


Firelight

by SmokingThemOutBasements



Series: The Scythians/Firelight [1]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Anal Sex, Bottom Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Coming Out, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Lots of kissing, M/M, Mpreg, Rimming, Rough Sex, Side ship Andy/Quynh, Smut, Soulmates, Spanking, Top Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, artist Joe - Freeform, baker Nicky, musical AU, singer joe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:55:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 63,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25602430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmokingThemOutBasements/pseuds/SmokingThemOutBasements
Summary: Joe needs to work on his art and music so he goes into a new cafe shop. It's love at first sight when he see's the owner, Nicky. His new love inspires him to finish the bands album and his art exhibit. This is their love story. (This Summary really sucks)
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: The Scythians/Firelight [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981216
Comments: 82
Kudos: 324





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> So this all came to be because the band Young The Giant gave me major Nicky and Joe vibes.  
> Here's a bit of info: Joe is the lead singer of YTG. Nile, Booker, Lykon, and Andy is apart of the band, The Scythians. Nicky, Copley, and Quynh work at the cafe. Everyone is all close in age so mid twenties. 
> 
> This is my first Nicky and Joe fic so wish me luck.

Joe really needed to find somewhere to focus. He had to finish his sketches so he could finally get his exhibit up. He wanted to get it done before he had to start recording for the album. Yusuf (Joe) Al-Kaysani was an artist not only as in drawing, but also musically. He formed a band with his close friends from college. They called themselves The Scythians and they were fairly known. Their song Cough Syrup has become mainstream and their first album did fairly well. They needed to have twelve songs prepared in three months to be recorded for their next album now. That was also why he needed to find a place to work at. Joe was honestly having trouble writing lyrics so he was worried his bandmates would be disappointed. Andy reassured him that it was okay since she was also struggling coming up with good guitar riffs that matched with Booker’s drum demos he’s sent to her. 

Andy was always so understanding and he sometimes hates her for that. She told him about a new cafe near her apartment. He walked to the location she sent with his satchel. He looked up from his phone to look up at the building. It was a smaller building on the street. It had a brick exterior and a dark blue tarp pulled out for a sitting area. The sign read Firelight so he knew he was at the right place. He pulled open the door to hear a bell chime. He took off his sunglasses and looked around to see the interior was cute and simple just like the outside. 

“Hello. Welcome to Firelight” He looked at the counter to see a asian woman with long black hair. She was wearing a dark red apron and had a sweet smile. 

“Oh hello” He lifted his hand as a hello. He stepped closer to the woman and saw her name was Quynh from her nametag. He looked at the menu that was a chalkboard with neat handwriting. “Can I have an iced americano and-” he looked at the glass case displaying several pastries. “Two cannolis” 

He pulled out his wallet as she imputed his order. She gave him the total and he handed over the correct amount of pounds. He took a seat by the window since he always loved working with the sunlight. He opened up his stachel to pull out his sketchbook and utensil case. He tends to sketch with pencils or sometimes charcoal. He didn’t want to make a mess so he decided on using pencils. He opened up a new page and randomly let his hand move. He tends to always just let his body take over his drawings rather than his mind. 

“Here you go sir” Quynh placed down a glass cup filled with the coffee and a plate with two cannolis. 

“Thank you so much ma’am” He bowed his head in thanks. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at the page. He started up the sketch of a bird. He turned to look out he window to see a family of small birds. Joe smiled since they were chirping happily. He took a bite of one of the cannolis and hummed in pleasure. This was one of the bst pastries he’s ever had. He finished the whole cannoli and saved the other one for later. He went back to sketching and would take breaks to take a sip of his americano. 

“Is everything okay, sir?” He looked up to see it was Quynh. 

“Yes. The cannolis are delicious. Do you guys make them here or do you order them?” He asked as he set his pencil down to give the woman his full attention. 

“My boss makes all the pastries. I’ve only met him twice since he hired me” 

“Oh I would’ve liked to compliment him on his baking” 

“He usually does all the baking overnight and is gone before I clock in” She told him. 

He nodded and looked down at his sketch of birds. “I’m Joe by the way” He extended his hand for a handshake. 

“Quynh” She shook his hand. “I really like your drawing” 

“Oh, thank you” Joe looked at the completed piece and smiled. He lifted his pencil and signed his name with a flourish. Joe carefully tore the page out and handed it over to Quynh. “Here. You can have it”

“Really? Are you sure?” She held the paper carefully, scared of ruining the art. 

“Of course. Just a random sketch that wouldn’t be of use to me” Joe smiled reassuringly to her. 

“Thank you” She looked down at the sketch with a smile. Quynh has always loved birds and the sketch truly was amazing. She looked at Joe to see him smiling at her. Quynh then realized what was going and needed to address the situation. “I’m sorry. I’m actually into women. Sorry”

Joe shook his head and held out his hand. “No. I’m sorry if it seemed like I was hitting on you. I too am gay” 

“It’s always a pleasure meeting a fellow person in the LGBT community” She rarely met people like her so it was a nice change. “So you're an artist. Do you have an exhibit at all?” 

“Not currently. I’m working on opening one soon though” He informed her. 

“Well when you do, you should bring some flyers here” 

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you” He bowed his head in thanks. The bell chimed so Quynh excused herself to help the new customer. 

For the next two weeks, Joe will go into Firelight to draw and occasionally write random lyrics. Quynh and him have gotten pretty close. He would consider her a good friend now. She was shocked when he told her about how he was in The Scythians. Her only request is that they go on tour if he can get her tickets. 

Currently, Joe was sitting at his usual table and was working on his recent sketch. It was a landscape view of a river he saw a few days ago. He heard the bell chime and he automatically looked up. He looked back at the sketchbook, but then whipped his head back up. There stood the most beautiful man he’s ever seen. He had blondish hair that was a bit unstyled. He can tell just from his side profile that his face was stunning. Joe never knew he could love someone’s nose so much. He wore black jeans and a grey t shirt with a dark green flannel over it. There was just something about him that seemed familiar. He watched as the man waved at Quynh and then walked past the counter to go in the back. He stared at the curtain that covered the doorway to see if the man would appear again. 

He waited for a minute before looking back down at his sketch. He tried to focus but all he could think of was the man. Quynh walked past his table to give a couple near him their coffee.    


“Hey Q” he stopped her as she was walking back up front. “Who was that guy that went to the back?”

“Oh that’s my boss” Quynh told him. “Why?” 

“I was just wondering. What’s his name? I feel like I’ve met him before” He asked. 

“His name is Nicky. He didn’t give me a last name. Like I said I’ve only seen him twice before” 

“Oh okay. Maybe I went to school with him or something” Joe said as he rubbed his beard. 

Quynh went back up front since another guest came in. Firelight has gotten alot more business since Joe started coming. He finished up his americano and realized he had to use the restroom. He got up and headed down the small hall to the mens bathroom. He relieved his bladder and washed his hands. He walked back out and was surprised to see a man sitting at his table. Not any man, but the owner of Firelight. He sat down in his seat and was glad he closed his notebook before he left. 

“Hi” He awkwardly said as he looked at Nicky. He was even more perfect up close. His eyes were the prettiest shade of green blue and they were so wide. His lips were a pretty shade of pink and he had a near the right side of his lip. 

“Hello” Joe fell even more in love at hearing that cute Italian accent. “You were asking about me” 

“Yeah” Joe rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. “I thought I knew you from school maybe”

“I didn’t go to school here” was all the man said. 

“I guess I was wrong than” Joe smiled to show he was friendly. Nicky looked down at all the pencil shavings on a napkin and then at the black spiral book. 

“You’re an artist” Nicky simply said. 

“I draw on the side for extra income. I’m actually a musician”

“Have I heard your music before?” Joe found it adorable how the man tilted his head as he asked the question. 

“Maybe. We have a hit song called Cough Syrup right now”

“Never heard of it. What kind of music is it?” 

“We make indie rock music. My band is called The Scythians” 

“I don’t listen to that kind of music” Nicky simply said. Joe noticed he was looking at his plate that had a cannoli and a slice of tiramisu. 

“I heard you make all the pastries. They’re the best I’ve ever had. Don’t tell my mother though” He joked. He was pleased to see a small smile on Nicky’s lips. 

“Thank you. Baking runs in the family actually. I also own the family cafe in Italy with the same name” 

“Oh so  _ Luce del fuoco _ ” 

There was that head tilt again. “You speak Italian?” 

“Only a little. I lived in Italy for a small period of time” Nicky nodded, understanding. “I’m Joe by the way” He extended his hand as a greeting. He felt a jolt of electricity when their hands touched. He noticed Nicky looking at their hands with a light blush. 

Nicky let go of his hand and placed it back on his lap. “You don’t look like a Joe”

“My real name is Yusuf, but kids growing up found it easier to call me Joe”

“Nicolo Di Genova. Nicky is easier” 

“Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Nicolo” Joe watched as Nicky stood and he desperately wanted him to stay. 

“I have to finish up some things in the back. It was lovely meeting you Yusuf” Nicky smiled and walked away. Joe hated seeing him go, but, man, was the view nice. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Thank you for reading and I know some of you were looking forward for this chapter. Here it is and excuse any errors.

Joe was excited to finally have all the paintings done for his exabit. He managed to get it done before he intended to. He also got quite a bit more of lyric writing done. He really owed his thanks to Nicky. They hadn’t met since last week, but the Italian man was all he dreamt of. He was hopeful he would see him again at Firelight, yet nothing. Today he was gonna meet with the band at said cafe. He walked in and was surprised to not see Quynh, but instead Nicky. 

“Welcome to- oh hello Joe” The man melted at seeing that sweet smile. 

“No Quynh?” 

“She had a family emergency” 

“I hope everything is okay” 

“I hope so as well” Nicky looked down at the register. “What can I get you today though?” 

“Oh my usual americano please. Also three pieces of tiramisu” Joe handed over the right amount and Nicky accepted the payment. Joe wanted to keep talking to Nicky, but the man walked away to start working on his order. He went to his usual seat and draped his bag behind his chair. He was on his phone reading an email that the art gallery sent him about his exhibit. 

“Here you go” Nicky placed down a glass and the plate of pastries. 

“Thank you” Joe put down his phone and looked at the beautiful man. He always made eye contact with people and Joe couldn’t help but get lost in Nicky’s eyes. They were so blue yet there was a bit of green hidden in them. 

“Are you okay?” Joe snapped out of his daze to see that tilt of the head.

“I’m fine. It’s just your eyes look more blue than before” 

“Oh” Nicky looked down almost shyly. “People say my eyes change colors depending on the sun” 

“Fascinating” Joe breathed out as he got lost in the man’s eyes again. “I always wished I had blue eyes” 

“Why? Your eyes are really beautiful” Nicky said as he kept eye contact with Joe. “They’re a nice hazel right now, but when you were ordering they were dark brown. It’s really interesting”

“I think your eyes are better. Sorry. I just realized that I really sound like a serial killer who kills based on your eye color. I’m not though” 

Nicky crossed his arms and said, “How would I know that you’re not?”

“How would I know you’re not either? You seemed to like my eyes as well” Joe mimicked him and crossed his arms. 

Joe went wide eyed once he heard Nicky laugh. It was so adorable to see him laugh. His eyes crinkled and he had his head slightly thrown back. “You have a very good point. I promise I’m not a killer if you promise too” 

“I promise Nicolo” Joe smiled up at him and he felt so much joy seeing Nicky smile back at them. Before they can talk again the bell rang. Nicky turned to see a guest walked in and was looking at the menu. 

“If you’ll excuse me, Joe” He bowed slightly before walking back behind the counter. “Hello. Welcome to Firelight. Let me know when you’re ready to order” 

Joe watched as Nicky helped out the consumer and he took note of how Nicky smiled politely as he handed the woman her receipt. He seemed so in his element as he made the drink order. 

He grabbed his bag and pulled out his notebook. He flipped past his sketches to a blank page. 

_ To the eyes of a dark, lost blue _

He looked back up to see Nicky was talking to the guest again. It seemed like he was giving information about one of the pastries he made. Joe looked down and wrote another line.

_ For you I would steal time _

Joe turned to put his notebook back into his bag when he heard the bell chime. 

"Joe!" Andy was walking towards him with her arms open. He stood up and pulled her into a tight hug; lifting her off the ground. She laughed as she held onto him.

“Great to see you too” He placed her back on the ground, but kept hugging her. 

“It’s been too long” She pulled out of the hug and wacked his chest. 

“It’s only been two weeks and we text constantly” Nile was walking over so he pulled her into a hug. “I love the new hair” he complimented. Instead of her usual many braids, her hair was styled in two french braids. 

“Thanks. Figured why not change it up while we’re on break” She said as she played with her large hoop earring. 

“You guys should order” Joe said as he pointed at the counter where Booker and Lykon was placing their order with Nicky. 

“Lykon knows what we like” Andy shrugged as she took a seat. Nile sat down next to her and Joe went back to his own seat. 

“How have you guys been though?” Joe asked as he drank some of his drink. 

“Pretty good. Went to visit my mom. She asked about you. You’re gonna have to visit her soon” 

“We can all go see her when we stop in Africa during the tour” Joe smiled as he thought about how sweet Gerda, Andy’s mother, was when they met. Andy was convinced that her own mother loves Joe more than her. 

“We ordered your usual” Booker said as he pulled a chair from a nearby table. Lykon patted Joe’s back as he went to sit next to him. 

“I also ordered some tiramisu for you guys. It’s the best” 

“I will be the judge of that” Andy has a thing for sweet treats. Every city they visited on their first tour, she asked the locals what’s their signature desert and will try it herself. She also had great taste buds and can figure out exact flavors in pastries. It’s truly remarkable. 

She got a good bite of the desert and went wide eyed. “This is incredible” 

“I told you. All the pastries here are to die for” Joe said before taking another sip of his coffee. “What have you been up to during the break?” 

“Went to meet Julie’s parents” Booker told him. 

“You haven’t met them already. You two have been together for almost two years” Joe pointed out. 

“Yeah. She wanted to wait. I don’t think they like me, but she says they do” Booker shrugged. 

“And you?” Joe turned to look at Lykon. The man hardly ever talks which Joe finds comforting in their group. 

“Just been home. Messing around with the new synth I got” 

“Cool. If you think it’ll sound cool in our songs just send it our way” Joe suggested. 

Before they could keep talking, Nicky came over with a tray to carry all the cups. “I have a black coffee” Booker lifted two fingers to signal it was his. “A cold brew” Andy pointed at herself since her mouth was full. Nicky smiled as he set the cool glass by her. “Mocha frappe” 

“That’s me” Nile said as she raised her hand. She always loved chocolate and you could honestly bribe her to do anything for the treat. 

“And the green tea must be yours” Nicky placed the tea cup in front of Lykon, who smiled his thanks. “Here’s another Americano since you’re almost done with yours” 

Joe watched as the man placed another cup down in front of him. He didn’t even realize he only had three sips left of his drink. “Oh thank you. Let me pay” Joe was reaching into his back pocket to grab his wallet. 

“No” Nicky stopped him. “There’s no need. It’s on me, Yusuf” He smiled while keeping eye contact with Joe. He then turned to look at everyone else. He bowed and said, “Enjoy” 

Joe watched as Nicky walked away and was brought back to attention by Andy whistling. He looked to see all his friends looking at him. “He totally has the hots for you” 

“What? No” Joe scoffed. Nicky could never like him. 

“He totally does” Nile added in. 

“He kept looking at you when we were ordering with this face” Booker said before taking a sip of his coffee. 

“He was jealous that you were hugging Andy” They looked at Lykon as he nodded. 

“You should ask him out” Andy told him. 

“Yeah, no. I don’t even know if he likes men. Plus I’ve only talked to him twice so it would be weird if I just ask him on a date” 

“I asked Julie out by just walking up to her at the store. It’s not weird” 

“You told him your real name. You must really like him” Andy pointed out. 

“Can we talk about why we’re really here?” Joe suggested. 

Nile decided to put her dear friend out of his misery and said, “So far I think we only have three songs done” 

“Shit. That means we’re behind” Joe scratched at his beard. “Send me those tracks and I’ll revise them. I’ll see what lyrics I have that will match with it. You guys can also send me what drafts you have right now. See if I can help out more since I’m done with my paintings” 

“Did that art gallery accept your request?” Andy asked. 

“Yeah. I have to go in tomorrow to figure out the set up I want for the viewing” 

“Cool. Can I design the flyers?” Nile asked, excited. 

“Of course. Who else would design some badass flyers?” Nile laughed and nodded her head. The group kept talking about random topics between their business talk. They soon decided to leave and Nicky was standing at the register as he waved at them. 

“Oh!” Andy turned back around to stand by the counter. “Joe told me you do all the baking. The tiramisu was to die for. I like to call myself a desert expert” 

“Oh thank you. Would you like to try some other pastries?” Nicky offered. 

“Can I?” Joe watched as Andy’s eyes lit up with excitement. 

“Of course. I’ll give you one everything to go” Nicky grabbed a box to put all the baked goods into. He handed it over to Andy who jumped in excitement. “It’s on me. I hope you enjoy”

She ran out yelling to Booker how she got as she said, “The good shit!” Nicky laughed at hearing her call his pastries the good shit. 

“Sorry about her” Joe said. 

“It’s fine. She seems nice, You two are lucky to have each other” 

Joe laughed and shook his head. “Andy really likes women and I so happen to really like men” 

“Okay” Nicky nodded his head. “Sorry for assuming” 

“It’s fine. It’s happened to all of us before” Joe played with his hands before finally growing the guts. “I was wondering if you would like to get dinner sometime” 

“Like a date?” Nicky questioned. 

“I mean if you want to. We can just go as friends if you’ll like. I don’t even know if you’re interested in men so it’s totally fine. Or we can just for-”

“I would love to go on a date with you, Joe” Nicky stopped Joe from rambling more. “Would tomorrow work for you?” 

“Um yeah” Joe was sorta in shock that Nicky actually wanted to go out with him. “That works perfect for me. Would 7 be okay?” 

“Sounds lovely. You can pick me up here” Joe nodded and smiled. He pulled out his sketch book and wrote down his number before tearing out the page. “Here’s my number so it’ll be easier to get in contact” 

“Thanks” Nicky accepted the paper and gave Joe a small smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow then” 

“Yes. Tomorrow. See you then Nicolo” Joe said as he started walking backwards. Nicky waved at him until he left Firelight. Joe walked past the building next door before shouting and running to catch up with the rest of the band. 

“Guys! I have a date!” Joe shouted as he jumped on Booker’s back. 

“Ah! Get off” Booker tried pushing him off him. 

“Nicky said yes when I asked him out. We’re going out for dinner tomorrow night. Yes!” Joe held Niles hands as he jumped up and down. Nile joined his celebration since it seemed like fun. 

“That means we need to figure out where this dinner will be at. Come on dear” Andy hooked her arm with Joe’s as they walked away from the group. Joe will forever be thankful for Andy since he really didn’t know any good spots in London. He was just so excited to go on a date with beautiful Nicolo Di Genova. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think so far and any suggestions you have. Thank you for reading and stay safe out there.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is guys. The first date. Excuse any errors and enjoy.

Joe left his apartment and made his way to Firelight. He was dressed in black jeans and a dark blue button up with a leather jacket over it. He wore his usual boots since he didn’t really wear any of the other shoes he had. He made sure to leave a bit early to be sure he made it to the date on time. Joe has never felt more nervous in his entire life. He was going on a date with his dream guy. The adorable and sexy Italian man with the cute accent. 

He got to the cafe and there he was. Nicky was leaning against the brick wall looking straight out of a magazine. He was wearing a white button up with the three buttons undone to show his chest a bit. The shirt was tucked into nice fitting black pants and a pair of converse. His hair was styled back and Joe sorta missed the messy hair. 

“Hey” Joe waved as he got closer to the man. 

“Ciao” Nicky smiled as he stood up right. 

“You look really handsome” Joe complimented. He so desperately wanted to say that Nicky looked absolutely beautiful. He looked brighter than all the stars in the sky and that there was no one else in the world, in the universe, that could ever look as perfect as Nicolo looked right this moment. 

“Thank you” Nicky pushed a loose strand of hair behind his ear. Joe really wanted to run his fingers through his longish hair. “You look very handsome too” 

“Thank you” Joe put his hands in his pocket to stop himself from reaching for the man. They started walking aimlessly as Joe started talking. “So we can go to this Italian restaurant nearby or we can go to this small thai place that is to die for. It’s entirely up to you” 

“Well I always criticize all the Italian restaurants I go to so I guess thai it is” 

“Perfect since we are already walking in the right direction” Joe laughed and it made Nicky smile. 

“So tell me about how you found your way here in London?” Joe striked up a conversation. 

“Well I always told my parents we needed to expand on the business so I came here to try to find the right building. It took me about a year till I found the location where Firelight is now” 

“Is  _ Luce Del Fuoco  _ really popular back in Italy?”  “You can say that. It’s been running for about thirty years now and we have been awarded with several awards for best baking and coffee” 

“Wow. The band and I will have to check it out when we go on tour” 

“Oh so your band is famous?” Nicky tilted his head as he asked. “Sorry. I rarely listen to music. My parents raised me listening to classical music” 

“My parents did too actually. I wouldn’t say we're famous. Our last single was on radio and you might still hear it on alternative or rock stations. We have about 100k followers on social media. So not super famous ”

“How did the band all start?” Nicky asked. They had got to the thai place so Joe held the door open for him. 

Joe waited to sit down at a table where the waitress walked them too. He then answered Nicky’s question.

“We met in America actually. California to be more specific. Andy, Lykon, and I met at Stanford and we met Booker at a frat party. We met Nile a few months later since she was finishing up high school” 

“You went to Stanford? Isn’t that a really hard school to get into?” Nicky was shocked to hear Joe went to such a prestigious school. 

“I did. I studied human biology. I also joined several clubs so I was constantly busy. I ended up dropping out cause I realized I wasn’t happy. I wanted to make my art and make music. Now I’m living my dream”

“I’m happy you did. Then we wouldn’t have met” Nicky admitted as he finally looked at the menu. Joe kept staring at Nicky with adoration in his eyes. This was meant to be. It was their destiny to meet. Joe couldn’t help but wonder if they were soulmates. He did feel familiarity when he saw Nicky and he still felt that way. It was as if he knew him his whole life yet they barely met a few weeks ago. 

The waitress came over and took their order. Joe drummed his fingers on the table as Nicky took a sip of the beer he ordered. They both ordered beers to feel more comfortable. Joe leaned forward to quietly say, “Do you want to play a game?” 

Nicky raised an eyebrow and looked around. “ _ Ora sembri davvero un serial killer, Joe”  _ **_(Now you're really sounding like a serial killer, Joe)_ **

_ “Mi guardi come se volessi uccidermi in qualche modo. Quindi forse tu sei l'assassino qui”  _ Joe noticed how the man looked at him with almost hunger in his eyes.  **_(You look at me like you want to kill me somehow. So maybe you're the killer here.)_ **

_ “Ti guardo così perché sembri sexy”  _ Nicky teased. Joe was surprised with how bold Nicky was being out of nowhere.  **_(I look at you like that because you look sexy)_ **

“We promised each other we weren’t killers. Now would you like to play a game?” Joe switched to English since he still was rough around the edges with his Italiano. 

“Depends. What kind of game?” Nicky questioned. 

“We share one of our secrets to break the ice. Or even a hidden talent. I played this game with all my friends when I first met them” Joe told him. 

“Very well” Nicky folded his hands on the table and leaned forward like Joe did before. “You first” 

Joe chuckled and nodded his head. “Should have known you were gonna say that” He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Okay. So I may or may not have started drawing you since we met” 

Nicky smiled at seeing Joe looking shy at admitting his little secret. “I would love to see your drawing sometime” 

“Really? You’re not creeped out?” 

“Yusuf, we literally talked about us being killers twice now. Nothing can creep me out at this point” Nicky told him. 

“Good point” Joe tilted his beer bottle towards the man as a touchė. "Your turn" 

"Uh" Nicky started playing with his fingers as he bit his lip. Joe could tell he was uncomfortable and was gonna say that he doesn't have to say anything. Nicky ended up beating him to the punch.

"I've always had this dream where I was in a war. People fighting around me with swords and heavy armor on" Joe was intrigued that the man was telling him a dream he's had. He must have been having it for a long time since his tone sounded soft with familiarity. 

"There was blood on me and I was holding a sword. I look up and I see you" Joe now knew why Nicky was telling him this. 

"But you looked different. You have a longer beard and hair a bit longer. You're covered in blood and I realize that you're the enemy, yet I can't bring myself to harm you. We met in the middle of the battle and we're close. Than I wake up" 

Nicky finally looks up at Joe to see the man looked shocked yet amazed. 

"Do you think we knew each other in our past lives?" 

"What do you mean?" Nicky never heard of such a thing. 

"At Stanford, a classmate of mine had this theory that we have a past life. That's why we have deja vu because our past self had done the same action. That's where the whole people were destined to be together came from. We might fall in love with the same person we met in our current body. Our soul keeps living in a different body when we die" 

"So you think we're soulmates?" Nicky said slowly to fully comprehend what Joe had just told him.

"Maybe. It would make sense. When I first saw you I thought I knew you. Like we met before" 

"I've had that dream since I was a teenager" Nicky whispered. Before they could continue the conversation, the waitress brought out their food. They thanked her, but didn't move to start eating. "You know I saw you a last year here in London" 

Joe was once again shocked to hear this. "You bumped into me rushing by with your guitar case and that stupid bag of yours" Nicky laughed softly as he thought back to that day. 

"You had quickly said you were sorry and I caught a glimpse of your face. I was taken aback to say anything. I didn't think you were real. I thought you were a random fragment in my dreams. Then you were gone. You rushed off before I could say anything" 

Nicky looked shyly down at his food before talking again. "That day we officially met. I didn't go in to fix something in the back. I walked by and saw you in the window. I thought I would never see you again and I had so many questions. Then you were asking about me to Quynh. I wondered if you had the same dream or a different one with me still in it" 

Nicky groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. _"Sono così confuso"_ **_(I'm so confused)_**

Joe reached across the table to hold the hand resting near his plate. "I know Nicolo. I am too. We can forget about this conversation. We can just talk about random things. Like our favorite movie or our favorite classical artist. We don't have to keep talking about this" 

Nicky nodded and lifted his fork to start eating. Joe followed the man’s action and started eating too. Nicky ended up answering what his favorite movie and classical artist is. They also talked more about Joe’s art and who are some artists that inspired them. 

They finished their meals and Joe insisted on paying since he asked to go on a date. 

“Fine. That means I pay for the next date” Nicky told him as they walked out of the building.

“Oh so you want to go on another date” Joe jogged a bit to catch up with Nicky who tends to walk fast. 

“Of course. We are soulmates after all, no?” Nicky smiled at Joe before grabbing to hold his hand. Nicky seemed unbothered as they kept walking. Joe stared down at their entwined hands and couldn’t help but feel this is right. Their hands looked perfect together. Nicky’s olive skin contested perfectly with his own brown skin. He raised their joined hands and kissed Nicky’s knuckles before putting them back down. Nicky moved a bit closer to Joe so he was leaning against Joe a bit. They both felt extremely happy. They felt like a couple that’s been together for years. There was no need to talk at all. They were comfortable holding hands and walking in silence. 

They walked back to Firelight on automatic. “Is it okay if I walk you home?” Joe asked. 

“That would be lovely” Nicky said as he led the way. They only walked a block before they stopped. “Here we are” Joe looked to his side to see the cute apartment complex. 

“Didn’t realize you lived so close to the cafe” Joe pointed out. “Was hoping we had more time” 

“Next date will be longer.  _ “Prometto tesoro”  _ Nicky squeezed Joe’s hand to show that he meant it.  **_(I promise darling)_ **

They stood facing each other while Nicky was playing with Joe’s fingers.  _ “Posso baciarti?”  _ Joe whispered.  **_(Can I kiss you?)_ **

Nicky looked up at Joe and there were those green blue eyes that haunt Joe’s dreams. 

“Please” Nicky whispered back. Joe leaned down that small gap to press his lips against Nicky’s. It’s cliche but there were sparks, fireworks. Nicky moved his hands to hold Joe’s waist to anchor him. Joe’s right hand was on Nicky’s cheek while the other was on his shoulder. Joe wanted to deepen the kiss, but knew this was their first kiss. He broke the kiss and rested his head against Nicky’s. They kept their eyes closed and basked in the moment. It was Nicky who moved for another kiss. Joe gladly accepted when Nicky deepened the kiss. Joe moved his hands to the blondish brown hair. He was pleased to hear the man moan when he bit his lip. 

They broke apart to catch their breath. Nicky moved so Joe was holding him in an embrace. Joe loved feeling Nicky’s warmth and kissed his forehead before resting his head against his. It felt calming to just stand there on the pavement in each other's arms. 

They heard a car honk and they were pulled out of their daze. Nicky took a step back from the embrace and they stared at each other. They were both studying each other to remember every detail. “I better get inside” Nicky finally broke the silence. 

“Of course. I’ll text you” Joe said. Nicky was walking towards the door but they both didn’t want to let the other’s hand go.

“Or we’ll see each other at the cafe tomorrow” Nicky pointed out. 

“Yeah. I’ll still text you though” Slowly they were letting go.

“I’ll be waiting” Nicky finally let go of Joe’s hand. He waved before walking into the building. Joe stood there for a couple of minutes before walking away. 

He made it home and laid back in his bed. He pulled out his phone to keep his promise. 

_ To Nicolo: Goodnight habibi.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the was a bit of a roller coaster. Let me know what you think and how do you think their relationship will progress. Thank you so much for reading and stay safe out there.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really long compared to the chapters before. I decided to make this a mpreg fic and there is smut. So I hope you enjoy and excuse any errors.

Joe walked into Firelight with a huge grin since he will be seeing Nicky again. He was up in the clouds from last night and nothing could bring him down. He was welcomed by Quynh at the counter rather than the stunning man he got to kiss last night. 

“Hey Q. Is everything okay with your family?” He asked, concerned. 

“Yeah. My dad had just fallen and fractured his arm. Mom freaked out so I had to go with them to the hospital” 

“I’m glad he’s okay. I was worried when I heard” 

“Guessing Nicky told you. How did he do helping the customers? I noticed he doesn’t really understand British people” 

Joe took note of what Quynh had said to ask Nicky about it. “He did good from what I could see” 

“Guessing you want the usual” Quynh said as she was already putting his order into the system.    


“Yes, please” 

_ “Dietro di te!”  _ She looked at Joe confused by her boss yelling in a different language. 

“Behind you” Joe translated as he kept opening his wallet to count out the right amount of cash. She moved to the side as Nicky came out from the back with a large tray of cannolis. “Here you go” Joe handed her the cash before looking over at Nicky, who was making sure all the pastries were pushed forward to be displayed. Nicky was wearing an all black outfit and a blue apron tied around his waist. He wore glasses that really suited his face. He somehow looked even more beautiful with flour in his hair. 

“Ciao Nicolo” Joe said as he pocketed his wallet. 

Nicky looked up and smiled at the other man.  _ “Ciao. Sede abituale”  _ **_(Usual seat)_ **

“Yeah” He nodded. 

“I’ll bring it over for you” Nicky turned to start making the coffee with a smile.  “What happened while I was gone?” Quynh asked as she looked between the two. 

“Nothing. You did miss the band though” 

“What! Tell them to come back!” Quynh demanded. 

“They’ll be coming back soon. We decided we would have our weekly meetings here” Joe informed her. They usually took turns going to each other’s homes, but wind up not getting any work done. 

“It better not be when I’m gone again” Joe turned to see a guest came in. 

“I’ll be sure darling” He told her before heading over to his seat by the window. He pulled out his sketchbook and a pen. He was going through his bag trying to find his earbuds when a glass cup and plate was placed in front of him. He looked at the plate with freshly made cannolis on it. He was surprised that Nicky took a seat across from him. It was very similar to when they first met. 

“Thanks” Joe said before he kept looking in his bag. He finally found the ear buds and set them on the table. “How has your morning been?” 

“Going okay. Just came in to bake the patches of items we needed. I appreciate the morning text. Really motivated me to get to work” 

“Glad to help” Joe grinned at him before taking a sip of his coffee. 

“I didn’t ask last night, but how did you end up living here? I mean you went to school in America” He asked.

“Well the whole band are citizens in America and grew up there. Our parents decided to end up moving back to their home country. Since we’re on break right now we decided to just stay in London. Plus we’ll be recording the album here so we have a work visa to stay here” Joe told him. 

“That makes sense. Will you go back to America when you’re done with work?” 

“Well after we record we’ll be doing press here in London for a while. Then we’ll tour and promote the album. Don’t know about after” Nicky nodded and raised his hand to fix his glasses. “We’ll spend as much time together until the tour. I promise Nicolo” 

Nicky nodded his head as he reached to play with Joe’s hand to calm down his anxiety. “Now I heard that you don’t understand British people?” Joe asked. 

He laughed and said. “Yeah. It’s just their accent. It just sounds like gibberish to me” 

“Then how did you manage to work yesterday?” 

“I understood their order, but not so much when they asked me questions. I just played up the whole “I’m Italian and not so great with the language” “

Joe laughed as he intertwined their hands. “Only you would pull that move"

They shared the cannolis and Joe swooned everytime Nicky would laugh when Joe told the story about Booker having to be carried out of a party by Andy. The shop was starting to get more busy so Nicky excused himself to help Quynh by making the orders. 

Joe untangled his earbuds and plugged them into his phone. Nile had sent over the first track they managed to get done. He opened his book to a fresh page and clicked his pen. He listened to the audio first with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. The guitar chords that Andy laid out really was soothing and the rhythm was gonna make it a bit easier to write lyrics over. Nile laid down a nice base line that made the track feel even more calming yet strong. Lykon added almost like an echo with his own guitar tabs. It was only about three minutes and there were no drums which sorta bothered Joe. 

He started the track over just to fully listen to the track a second time. He was flipping through his sketchbook to look at the past lyrics he would randomly write. He stopped on the page that he wrote,  _ To the eyes of a dark, lost blue.  _

He looked up to see Nicky was smiling as he handed a couple a box filled with pastries. He looked down at the page and lifted his pen. He circled the lyric and started writing underneath it. He just let his mind go and his hand wrote everything he thought as he listened to the song. Even when the music wasn’t playing anymore, Joe kept writing. 

He stopped when he heard a glass being placed on the table and the scraping of a chair.  _ “Scusate”  _ Nicky said as he sat down in front of the glass of coffee he made for himself.  **_(Sorry)_ **

Joe took out his earbuds to give the man his full attention. “It’s okay. I’m done anyway”

“Can I ask what you were writing?” Nicky asked after he took a sip of the cool beverage. 

“Just some lyrics. We’re pretty far behind on getting our demos done” Joe looked down at his scribbling to scan over what his brain spilled out. _I don't believe you. I'm in a parachute falling in deep,_ caught Joe’s eye. He closed the book and pushed it to the side. “I’m waiting for them to send me the other two they got done” 

“So you just write lyrics over them and it’s done?” Nicky asked. He didn’t really understand the whole music writing process. 

“Not exactly. I listen to the demo they send me and I write what I think will go well with it. I record the vocals at home and then add any other elements I think are missing from it. We listen to the completed demo together to decide if it’s good to go on the album” Joe explained. Nicky nodded his head and appreciated hearing Joe talk about something he loves so much. Last night when Joe was going on about his art, he had that same bright tone. 

“That’s neat. So you play instruments?” 

“Yeah. Ukulele, guitar, drums, piano, and percussion. I’m a bit better at refining tracks than fully making one” Joe told him. 

“What was your band's name again?” 

“The Scythians” Nicky nodded and took note of the name. He decided he should check out the band's first album. They held hands over the table as they kept telling each other memories they had. Nicky spoke about his family and how the cafe had been made. How he wanted to find love like his parents. Joe talked about his friends and all their wild adventures in college and on their first tour. 

“Joe! I knew you would be here!” The two looked to see Nile heading their way. She was dressed in her usual skinny jeans and band shirt with her jacket over it. “Oh, what’s this?” She teased with a smirk as she looked at their entwined hands. 

“Nile, this is Nicky. Nicolo, this is the famous Nile Freeman”  “Lovely to meet you” Nicky held out a hand to shake her’s. 

“You too” She looked at Joe with her hands on her hips. “I’ve been calling you for an hour now. I do you a favor and you can’t answer my calls” 

“Sorry. I haven’t looked at my phone. What’s the matter though?” Joe asked.

“Nothings wrong. Just finished printing out these bad boys for you” Nile slammed down a stack of flyers. It was a drawing of Joe’s and a large print of the art gallery and the time of the show. 

“Oh sweet Nile. I love you so much” He grabbed a flyer to fully look at it. “They look so good thank you” 

“No problem. I have some in my bag so I’m gonna post them up around the street and see what shops will take them” 

“We can post one on the door and keep a stack by the register” Nicky told them. 

“That would be great” Joe smiled his thanks as he stood up. “Thank you again” He pulled Nile into a hug. 

“No problem. I’m gonna head out. Have fun love birds” She teased before she left. Nicky took half of the stack Nile left and put them on the counter. Quynh grabbed one to see what it was. 

“Oh. I can’t wait. This Saturday I’m gonna see some stunning art” 

“You should bring your parents. I’m sure after that scare they can use some fun” Joe suggested

“I’ll see with them. Mother always loved art” Quynh said. Nicky had grabbed a flyer and some tape to tape the paper to the glass door. 

“I’m gonna head out to hand some of these out before heading home. I’ll see you soon” Joe said to Quynh. 

“See you Joe” She waved as he turned to walk to the door. 

“I’ll text you” he said to Nicky. 

“Okay. Maybe tomorrow we can go out. Around noon?” 

“That sounds perfect” Joe leaned in to kiss Nicky since he wanted to since the man walked in with a tray of cannolis. 

“Bye” Nicky said before pecking his lips again. 

“Ciao Nicolo” He walked out the door and Nicky stared after him. He turned around to see Quynh was watching them with a raised eyebrow. 

“Shush you” Nicky told her before walking to the back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the next three days, Nicky and Joe went on two incredible dates. They walked around London on the first date. They held hands and talked about their childhood more. Joe talked about his time in Stanford and how mad his family was when he dropped out. On the second date, Joe packed a panic for the two and went to a park. They laid out a blanket and ate and drank some wine. Nicky told him about Italy and how the date reminded him of home. He told Joe about how he didn’t have many friends. He just always wanted to be at the family cafe and bake. He talked about his sister, who was his best friend. Marcella was popular in school and her friends were made to be Nicky’s too. 

The next day Joe stayed home to get more work done. He managed to get all three of the demo’s fully done. He texted Nicky the whole day and even sent some selfies to show he really was hard at work. Nicky would send back his own selfies of him covered in flour and pouting. Nicky spent the whole day baking since he told Joe he will be bringing pastries for Joe’s art show. 

Yusuf was excited for the show. He looked in the mirror and made sure he looked okay. He wore a suit and had his tie loosely tied. He made sure he had his wallet and his house keys. He grabbed his phone as he walked out. He made his way to the art gallery to see a line outside. They all cheered loudly when they saw Joe. He knew they were fans of the band since Nile posted on their social media about the show. 

“Hey guys” He walked over and nodded that it was okay to the security. He signed a few albums or other band merchandise they had. He took some pictures with them before he felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned to see it was Nicky. Joe was in amazement to see the Italian in a fitted suit and a tie. His hair was wild and he knew the man did it on purpose cause he spilled that he liked his hair like that. 

“Hey habibi” He wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek. He turned to finish the autograph before heading inside. He stood in the middle of the room in awe. All his art was there on display and he felt an overwhelming feeling of pride. Nicky moved to hold Joe’s hand while they both just looked around the room. 

_ “È fantastico. Così bello amore mio”  _ Nicky told Joe.  **_(It's fantastic. So beautiful my love.)_ **

_ “Non bello come te, habibi”  _ Joe pulled him into a hug and kissed him deeply.  **_(Not as beautiful as you)_ **

“I thought Nile was lying” They broke apart to see Andy walking towards them in a very powerful suit with several buttons undone. “You two really are all lovey dovey”

“Nicky this is Andy. Andy this is my boyfriend Nicky” Yes. Boyfriend is correct. They made things official on their last date and couldn’t be more happier. 

“God. You’re even more sexy in a suit. You are about to make me reconsider on not being with men” She pulled Nicky into a hug. “It’s really great to officially meet you. You better not hurt my Yusuf” 

“I would never” Nicky promised. The rest of the band walked over and Joe introduced Nicky to everyone. They all complimented Nicky on his baking since they were already digging into the snack table the gallery set up. 

Security was letting people into the building and were in awe with his art. Joe and Nicky held hands as they walked the room looking at each piece in the order Joe designed them to be. Paintings of a busy street with a storm. A painting of a small Indian child that Joe met on the last tour. He used all the pictures he took around the world to be painted. 

He heard Nicky gasped and looked where the man’s gaze was. Near the front was a painting of the inside of Firelight. It was beautiful and it captured the warmth that the business had. 

Joe hugged Nicky from behind as they stood in front of the display. “You like it?” 

“I love it” Joe kissed Nicky’s cheek as they stood there. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the end of the night, after everyone left, the owner of the gallery came up to Joe. 

“I just want to inform you that all your paintings were sold tonight” She handed him a thick envelope and smiled. “We would like to display more of your art if you’re interested” 

“Of course. I’m currently busy with my main job, but I’ll be sure to be in contact when I have more pieces for you” Joe informed her. He thanked her again for letting him hold the event before Nicky and him left. 

They made their way to Nicky’s place as usual since Joe would always walk him home. 

“Hey. Let’s play your game again” Nicky suggested after walking for a few minutes. 

“Okay. Let me guess. You want me to go first” 

“You know it” Nicky grinned as Joe wrapped his arm around him. 

“Very well” He looked down at the floor. He was wondering if he should tell Nicky. “After the dream you told me about on our first date. I’ve been trying to write down all my dreams as soon as I wake up. None of them are like the one you told me about, but they all have you in it”

“Really?” 

“Yeah. One of the most frequent one is us on a beach. We’re just laying there basking in the sun and the presence of one another. Sometimes we’re on the sand. Other’s we’re in the water wrapped in each other's arms” Nicky just looks at Joe with fascination. The dream sounded so calming and relaxing. “Maybe one day we’ll go to the beach”

“I would like that. I miss the beach” Joe loved seeing Nicky pout. 

“Your turn, habibi” Joe said. 

“Okay, but you swear you won’t see me differently when I tell you” 

“Of course not. If you don’t want to tell me you don’t have to” Joe reassured him. They had stopped walking at this point. They stood facing each other. Joe held both of Nicky’s hands to show his support.

“I want to especially if we’re gonna be in a relationship. It’s just I was always teased about it and people always thought I was a freak. When I was in high school I had found out that I could get pregnant. About a quarter of all men in the world have the ability to carry a child and I just so happen to be one of them” Nicky said as he looked at the ground. 

“Why would you think I would look at you differently because you can have a kid?” Joe asked. 

“Cause everyone thinks that’s weird. My parents won’t even acknowledge it” He remembers all the times his mother would beg his sister to give her grandbabies, but never asked her son once. 

“I could never think you were weird. If anything I’m more amazed with you. You are able to give the most amazing gift ever which is a child. Anyone who teased you or called you names had no right. You are beautiful and extraordinary for having this ability, Nicolo” 

Nicky didn’t realize he was crying until Joe lifted his hand to delicately wipe the tears away. “I know it’s really early in the relationship to say this, but I love you, Nicolo. You have no idea how much love consumes me just from looking at you. You are so beautiful inside and out. I am so incredibly lucky to even be in your presence, my love” 

Nicky pulled Joe into an intense kiss to show just how much he loves Joe back. They ended the kiss since they needed to breathe. “I love you too, Yusuf” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They got to the front of Nicky’s apartment and spent some time kissing. Nicky pulled away a bit and asked, “Would you like to come up?” 

“Sure” Joe said. He let Nicky lead him inside and they climbed up the flight of stairs. He unlocked the door and let Joe walk in. The apartment reminded him of Firelight. They both had this warmth to them that Joe couldn’t explain. There were bookcases in the sitting area and blankets draped on the couch. It was very neat yet there was a mug on the table and some books thrown around. Nicky held Joe’s hand as he dragged him to his bedroom. Before Joe could even look around, Nicky pulled him close to make out with him. Joe let his hands hold Nicky’s small waist as Nicky’s hands were in his hair. Joe let his hands wander to feel the man’s slim body. He dared to move his hands to grope at that ass he noticed the first time they met. It felt even better than how it looked. 

Nicky moaned into the kiss happily. He just wanted Joe to touch him everywhere and he wanted to touch Joe. He wants to know if he’s as strong as he looks. He pulled away from Joe and let their lips still touch. He pushed at Joe’s blazer, wanting off. Joe shrugged it off and then helped Nicky take his off. Joe moved in to kiss the skin peeking out of Nicky’s button up. The man had loosen his tie and undid a few shirt buttons while they were walking. Joe had been staring at the olive skin since he caught a glimpse. He licked the skin and was glad to know it tasted even better. 

“Joe” he moaned out as the man started sucking on his neck; leaving marks behind. Nicky moved his hands to untuck his shirt to unbutton it. He gasped upon feeling abs and strong pecs.  _ “Fanculo. Non puoi essere reale”  _ He moaned out.  **_(Fuck. You can't be real)_ **

Nicky moved Joe to kiss his lips roughly. Joe backed them up to the bed and let them fall on it. He pushed the shirt all the way off to fully appreciate Joe’s strong arms he gets a peek of everyday. He helped Nicky out of his shirt so he can worship all that beautiful skin. He kissed every inch of his upper body which drove Nicky crazy. 

“Joe” He whined out as Joe kissed right above his pants. He moved up to kiss Nicky again. 

“Are you sure? We don’t have to” Joe said. 

“Yes, Yusuf. I want you, please” Nicky told him. He held the back of Joe’s neck to pull him down for a kiss. He worked on unbuckling Joe’s belt to open his pants.

“Wait” Nicky was about to get frustrated when Joe moved Nicky’s hands off him to stand up. He was pleased to see Joe pulling his pants off. Nicky followed his lead and started undoing his pants. Joe helped pull Nicky’s pants down his legs. He got back on the bed and was on top of the man. They went back to kissing and then started grinding against each other. Nicky moaned as Joe moved to kiss at his neck again. He loved hearing the moans and whimpers Nicky was letting out. 

“Yusuf” He whined. 

“I know, habibi” Joe peeled off both of their underwear. Joe really wanted to know what he did to deserve such a beautiful human being. How can someone's dick look so perfect? That can’t be possible right? 

Joe moved them so Nicky’s head was resting against the pillows. He then moved down so he can really worship the Italian man. He kissed the sharp hip bones and his strong thighs. He kissed the tip of his dick that was pink and leaking. He wrapped his lips around him and moved his mouth down. Nicky hissed at feeling Joe’s warm mouth around him. Joe sped up his movement a bit and moved his hand to caress his thigh. He can feel Nicky was already close so he pulled off. 

“Do you have lube?” He asked. 

“Yeah. In the drawer. Condoms are in there too” Joe moved to open the bedside drawer. He moved some papers in there to find the lube and condom. He didn’t point out the sex toy in there since he didn’t want Nicky to feel embarrassed. He put the condom by Nicky as he opened the lube. He poured some on his fingers and rubbed it around Nicky’s hole. 

“Okay?” 

“More than okay” Nicky told him. Joe slowly pushed one finger in. Nicky exhaled and when Joe started moving his finger, he started breathing a bit heavier. Joe added another finger as he kept leaving kisses on the man’s face and chest. Joe wanted to be sure he was fully stretched so he added a third finger. 

“Doing so good, habibi” Joe praised as he kissed his nose. He really loves Nicolo’s nose. 

“I think I’m good. Wanna feel you” Nicky told him. 

“Okay” Joe nodded and withdrew his fingers. He took off his underwear and opened the condom. Nicky watched as the man rolled the condom on and put some lube on his dick to make the slide more easier. He poured some lube on Nicky’s hole too just to be sure. He got in between Nicky’s gorgeous legs and leaned down to softly kiss him. Just so he knows it’s okay. That it's safe and he's gonna take care of him. 

Joe slowly pushed past the tight ring and groaned from the sensation. Nicky was warm and so tight. He stayed still to let the man adjust. He rested his hands against Nicolo’s head. He rested his forehead against his and they just stared into each other's eyes. It felt even more intimate than the actions they were doing. Joe rubbed their noses together before Nicky kissed him.

They kept kissing and soon Joe started moving his hips slowly. They stopped kissing and rested their foreheads together. Nicky had his eyes close to fully appreciate how full he felt. Joe kept his gaze on the beautiful man who was in pleasure. Joe sat up and held Nicky’s thighs as he thrust faster. 

_ “Fanculo”  _ He moaned as he moved his hands to grip the pillow his head was under. It had been awhile since he had sex and he wasn’t sure if he forgot how great it felt or it just felt like this cause it was with Yusuf. 

_ “Tu sei così carina. Posso scrivere canzoni e sonetti su quanto sembri incredibile mentre ti perdi nel piacere”  _ He rambled out as he kept thrust harder into Nicky.  **_(You are so pretty. I can write songs and sonnets about how incredible you look as you get lost in pleasure)_ **

Nicky lifted his arms to wrap around Joe’s neck to pull him down against him. Joe slowed down so they could kiss deeply.  _ “Ti amo Yusuf”  _ **(I love you Yusuf)**

_ “Ti voglio bene anch'io Nicolo”  _ They kept kissing with all their love while Joe started thrusting again.  __ **_(I love you too Nicolo)_ **

They felt connected as one not physically but also spiritually and emotionally. Sure the both of them figured out the whole soulmate thing from their dream, but this showed they were meant to be. They both had several partners before and nothing felt like this. Their touch set fire to their skin and when their lips met it was like heaven.

“Oh I’m close” Nicky moaned out. 

“Me too habibi” Joe moved to kiss the man’s neck as he sped up his movement. Nicky moved his hands to wrap around Joe’s back. 

“Right there” Nicky threw his head back as Joe was hitting his prostate. Within minutes, Nicky was coming between their bodies. Joe came into the condom and pulled out. He tied the condom and got out of the bed to throw it away in the bathroom. He grabbed a washcloth and walked back to the bedroom. He smiled as he saw Nicky laying in bed with his arms spread out and his eyes closed. 

Nicky opened his eyes when he felt Joe wiping up the mess between his legs and on his stomach. He raised his hand to place it on Joe’s cheek. He sat up so he could softly kiss him. 

“I love you” Nicky whispered to him.

“Love you too” Joe whispered back. Nicky pulled Joe to lay down next to him and pulled the blanket at the end of the bed to cover them. He turned and grabbed Joe’s arm to wrap around himself.  “Never thought of you being the small spoon” Joe told him as he let his boyfriend get comfortable. 

“You can have a turn later” Nicky told him. “I’m just tired and want you to hold me” 

“Anything you want, Nicolo” They drifted off to sleep and that night they both shared the same dream. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think and thank you so much for reading. Stay safe out there and see you soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What another chapter! I know I'm surprised too. Thank you for all the positive feedback on the last chapter and I'm glad you guys like the choice of making this an mpreg. So enjoy this chapter and excuse any errors.

_ Nicky and Joe, wait that’s wrong. This was Nicolo and Yusuf. They were dressed in 1930’s era clothing. Both wearing white button ups with high waisted pants. Nicolo had his suspenders up while Joe had his down. They were sitting on a blanket in a grassy field while watching a child run around. He was about four years old and had the same beautiful skin as Nicolo. He had thick curly dark hair that's growing out. The boy turned to look at the two and he looked just like them with Nicolo’s eyes and Yusuf’s mouth. He was beautiful as he smiled and waved at his parents.  _

_ Nicolo looked at his husband and leaned in for a kiss. They sat there staring into each other's eyes as Yusuf softly caressed Nicolo’s cheek. They were pulled out of their moment by their son yelling.  _

_ They stood up and looked around them to not see the boy.  _

_ “Matteo!” Yusuf shouted as Nicolo started running to the trees nearby. Yusuf followed his husband as they kept calling for their son.  _

_ They heard their son scream again and ran in the direction of the cry. They got the ocean and didn’t see their boy anywhere. “Habibi” Joe called as he picked up the toy horse Matteo always carried. It was wet from being so close to the water.  _

_ “No” was all Nicolo said as he shook his head. “Matteo!” He called out as he ran into the river to look for his son. “Matteo!” He shouted as he was moving his hands around frantically to move the leaves away from his view of the water that was waist high. He dived under to look under the water, desperate to find the little boy. Yusuf got into the water to stop his husband from going further into the water. Nicolo kept trying to look as Yusuf wrapped his arms around him.  _

_ “Nicolo” He softly said to get him to calm down.  _

_ He looked into his husband’s eyes and shook his head as he started crying. “No. Figlio mio. Non può essere andato. Non può” Yusuf pulled Nicolo into a hug as he kept sobbing and crying out for their son.  _ **_(No. My son. It can't be gone. He can not)_ **

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe woke up right when Nicky sat up in bed breathing heavily. He was looking around the room with a frantic look in his eyes. Joe sat up to place a hand on the man’s shoulder. Nicky jumped and turned to see Joe. 

“It’s okay. Breath, Nicolo” he softly said as he rubbed his back to calm him down.

Nicky looked around the room in search.  _ “Il bambino. Dov'è ... Dov'è il mio bambino? Dov'è il nostro bambino, Yusuf?”  _ **_(The child. Where's ... Where's my baby? Where is our baby?)_ **

_ “È stato un sogno, tesoro”  _ Joe said as he kept rubbing soothing circles on Nicky’s back.  **_(It was a dream, honey)_ **

“It was just a dream” He repeated to him. “It was just a dream” He said more to himself. He can still feel the pain of losing his child like if it really happened. 

Nicky moved to hug Joe and they moved to lay back down with Nicky’s face buried in Joe’s strong chest. “He was so beautiful” Joe wasn’t sure if he heard Nicky. “He looked like you, Joe. He was so happy and then he was gone” 

“Matteo” Joe whispered out. Nicky looked up and his boyfriend confused on how he knew that name. “I had the same dream” 

“You saw him too?” Nicky asked, surprised. 

“Yeah. He really was beautiful. He had your eyes. I wouldn’t forgive myself if our child didn’t have your eyes” Joe told him. 

Nicky laughed and moved out of the other man’s arms a bit so he can look at Joe’s face. “I wouldn’t mind if they had your eyes. I told you their gorgeous” 

“And I told you, yours are better” They laughed as they thought about their past conversation. Nicky turned to look to his alarm clock to see it was eight in the morning. “I usually would be at work right now” He said as Joe wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. 

“Hm. Is this you telling me I’m a bad influence?” Joe teased as he rubbed his nose against the nape of Nicky’s neck. 

“No. I could never turn down cuddling” Nicky told him. “But I really do need to get to the cafe”

“Very well” Joe let Nicky get out of the bed and was happy to watch his naked boyfriend head to the bathroom. He sat up and ran his hair through his hair. He got out of the bed and pulled his clothes back on. He saw his phone was on low battery so he looked around to find Nicky’s phone charger. He found it by the alarm clock and plugged it in. He saw that the band's group chat was full of congratulations to him about his show. He texted back thanking them and asked if they can have a meeting at Firelight. He then went on Instagram to see several fans had tagged him to posts of his artwork and the show last night. He saw Andy had sent him a picture of Nicky and him holding hands in front of one of his paintings. He smiled and set it as his phone’s background. 

Nicky came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. He went to his drawer to grab a pair of light blue jeans. “Can you pick me a shirt in the closet?” he asked as he pointed at the closed sliding door.

“Sure” Joe walked over and opened up the closet. There were a variety of button ups and jackets hanging up. He looked at all the buttons up till he settled on the light green shirt that would bring out the green in Nicky’s eyes. He walked into the bathroom with the shirt in hand. He leaned against the doorway as he watched Nicky put just a bit of hair product in his hair.    


“Here you go babe” He said. Nicky washed his hands and dried them before accepting the shirt. 

“Did you want to come with me to the cafe?” 

“Sure. I asked the band if they want to have a meeting there today” Nicky buttoned up his shirt and walked out the bathroom. 

They left the apartment and made their way to Firelight. “By the way, I listened to your first album” 

“Really?” Joe was surprised to hear that Nicky actually listened to his music. “What did you think of it?” 

“It was really good. Never thought Booker could sing” Nicky joked. 

“We were too” Joe laughed. “Did you have a favorite track?” 

“I really liked God Made Man. Didn’t think you were so religious” Nicky told him. 

“I was raised muslm so I use to go to mosque every Friday. I still pray but I haven’t been to mosque for awhile since we’ve been traveling so much” 

“Sorry. I don’t know much about muslim. I was born as a catholic” Nicky told him. 

“Well same god different practice. At least that’s how I always perceived religion” Joe said. 

“I think lots of people would argue against that” Nicky said as they got in front of Firelight. He pulled out a set of keys to unlock the door. He left the lights off as they walked to the back. 

It was Joe’s first time in the kitchen area and it was pretty amazing. It seemed like a baker’s dream area. Nicky grabbed his apron hanging and tied it around his waist. “If we had a kid what religion would we raise them?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe both” Joe shrugged. “How about you ask me that again when we are expecting a kid” 

“Deal” Nicky smiled as he opened the large fridge to grab ingredients he’ll need. “Sorry it might be boring here while I bake” 

“No. I’m entertained” Joe really wanted to watch his boyfriend work since he thought it was hot that he could bake. 

“What was your favorite song on the album?” He asked as he started mixing his dry ingredients together. Joe had hopped onto one of the counters to sit and watch Nicky.

“Um that’s a tough one” He scratched at his beard as he thought about all the songs on the album. “I guess Typhoon” 

Joe didn’t know why he said that song cause he never thought of it as his favorite. He tried to figure out why his mind had come to that conclusion and he looked over at Nicky to see he stood there frozen. 

Joe realized why when the thought about the lyrics. He wrote them after waking up from a nightmare in college. It was about Matteo. About him disappearing in the ocean. 

“I’ve had the dream before” Joe whispered to himself. Nicky marched over and hugged him. “I’m sorry” He whispered out as he remembered a different part of the dream. Of them fighting and Nicolo packing and leaving. 

“It’s okay. It was just a dream” Nicky softly said. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

By the time the cafe was open the band had arrived. They were sitting in the usual area and they can tell Joe seemed off. 

“What’s wrong?” Andy finally asked. 

“Hm? Nothing” Joe told them as he took a sip of his coffee.

“There’s obviously something wrong so just spill” Nile told him. 

Joe sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “You guys believe in soulmates?” They all looked at him confused. “The whole theory of everytime we’re reborn we fall in love with the same person” 

“I mean theoretically sure” Andy said. 

“Well Nicky told me that he’s been having this dream with me in it since he was a teenager” 

“Really?” Nile asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. When I saw him the first time I thought I already knew him. This morning we had the same dream and we were in like the 30’s. It was terrible though. It was more of a nightmare than a dream. I realized when we got here this morning that I had the dream before in college” 

“Okay. So you guys are soulmates. What’s the problem then?” Booker said. 

“The problem is they feel guilty” They looked at Lykon who spoke up. “Whatever happened in their dream affected their conscious since they’re remembering their past life” 

Joe stood up and walked to the back. Nicky was putting the patch of pastries in the oven when he heard someone walk in. He turned around to see Joe. 

“Hey. What’s up?” Nicky asked as he set the dirty bowls in the sink. 

“Whatever happens in our dreams we can’t let it affect us” Joe told him. 

Nicky tilted his head and said, “What do you mean?” 

“I mean we can’t feel guilty or sad about something that isn’t in our control. We have to live in this moment” Joe said. 

“Okay. We are. Are we not?” 

“Don’t you feel this guilt and sorrow after having that dream?” 

“Yes, but like you said it’s our past lives” Nicky walked over to hold both of Joe’s hands. “I love you Yusuf and just because of some bad dreams we aren’t gonna let it ruin us” 

“You’re right” He leaned in and kissed Nicky to reassure himself. “I love you too” 

They kissed again and then Nicky pushed him towards the door. “Now go back to work. I need to finish my own work” 

“Love you” 

“Love you too. Now go” Nicky shooed him away with a smile. 

Joe walked over to the table and said, “You guys want to go to my place to jam out?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They got to Joe’s apartment and started setting up. Joe kept all the needed instruments in his spare bedroom which he converted to a practice room. “Did you guys listen to the demo’s I sent back?” Joe asked. 

“Yeah. They sound really good” 

“So I was thinking on the first track we should make it longer. Maybe add some drums” Joe suggested. He looked at Booker and said, “Also add any harmony you think will work” Booker nodded as he held his drumsticks. Joe grabbed a tambourine and a shaker since he felt like it could be added. 

“That would make sense. Let’s play it now and then keep going and see what we get” Andy said. Lykon placed his phone in the middle of the room to record. Joe kept his eyes closed as he listened to them play. He stepped to the mic and started singing. He finished the last line and Booker came in with soft drums. Joe softly hit the tambourine against his leg and shook the shaker. 

Joe placed his instruments in one hand and signaled with his other hand to play quietly. _ “Lay down by the firelight”  _ He sang and then signaled to play at normal volume. They took the hint that every time he sang to pause a bit so the words hit more. They soon stopped after two minutes since it felt right. 

They sat down on the floor and listened to the recording. They pointed out some slight things to fix and they re recorded. 

As soon as Lykon stopped the second recording. Joe’s phone started ringing. “Sorry” He said as he grabbed his phone. It was Nicky so he left the room to answer. 

“Hey. Sorry I didn’t tell you I left” Joe said. 

“It’s okay. I figured you left for work” 

“Yeah. We came to my apartment to practice. If you want you can come over” Joe offered. 

“Are you sure?” Nicky asked. 

“Yeah. I’ll send you my address” 

“Okay. See you soon. Bye” Joe texted Nicky his address before walking back into the room. 

“Nicky is coming over” 

“Cool. It’ll be good to get his input” Nile said. They kept randomly playing until Joe’s phone was ringing again. 

“Hello” He answered. 

“I’m outside your door” Nicky told him. 

“Alright. Be right there” Joe hung up and left the room to open the door.    


Nicky was leaning against the doorframe with a smile. “Hey. Come on in” 

“Thanks” Nicky followed Joe to the room where the rest of the band was. 

“I brought the good shit” Nicky said as he held up the pastry box he brought full of baked goods. 

“Blessed the lords” Andy cried out. She grabbed the box from Nicky with her guitar still on. “You are the best” She said as she kissed his cheek. “Also thanks to you I got laid” 

Nicky looked at Joe confused before looking back at Andy who was biting into a cannoli. “What do you mean?” 

“Quynh and I really hit off” Joe was the least surprised to hear that. Nicky was though since he didn’t know Quynh was into women. “We have a date tomorrow” 

“That’s nice. Happy for the both of you” Nicky said. “Guess now I have something to tease her about” 

“You can sit over her if you want” Nile said once she moved his guitar case off the couch. 

“Oh thank you” Nicky said as he moved to sit.    


“We’re just gonna be randomly playing so don’t judge” Joe told him. 

Nicky laughed and nodded his head. “No judgement here” 

Joe laughed and turned to the group. “Booker you want to start us off” 

Booker saluted Joe with his drum sticks. They had a thing where a member will play whatever they felt and then another member joins till they have a full song. Booker was focused on his snare and his drum kick. He played for about a minute before Joe looked around to see who wants to join next. Nile nodded and hopped in to add a bit of depth. Lykon had changed his guitar to his acoustic one and joined in. Joe closed his eyes and listened to the foundation of a good track. He felt goosebumps raise as Andy played a beautiful soft melody. Joe grabbed his tambourine on the floor and joined in with a smile. It was so perfect and it brought so much joy to him. Along the way Booker added another element to his drums and the rest of the members naturally followed. They flowed back to the original chords they were playing until they stopped. Lykon stopped the recording while Joe looked over at Nicky who seemed to be amazed. 

He signaled for Nicky to come over as they sat down on the floor to listen to the playback. Joe wrapped his arms around Nicky’s shoulders as they listened and it felt nice. The track was just so perfect. “Do you have any lyrics you think will work?” Andy asked. 

“I have an idea. Let go again” Nicky kissed him before going back to his seat. They started playing again and Joe smiled over at his boyfriend. He stepped to the mic and closed his eyes to let his mind flow and sing whatever. Of course Nicky came to his mind.  _ “Crawl back to life, it’s been far too long crystallized. Round interstellar moons. Seed of light into your atmosphere. What’s your world like? Is the house we’ve built still here?”  _ The band was about to change times as Joe sang,  _ “Boy you know”  _

Joe opened his eyes as he sang loudly.  _ “When the beat of my drum meets the beat of your heart, you know I couldn’t love any other, any other. This is where I come from. This is where I belong, with the beat of your drum not any other”  _

They stopped playing when Joe signalled them to. “Let’s listen?” They nodded and were sitting on the floor again. “It sounds really great” Nile said. 

“I think we can call it a day” Andy said. “Lykon, can you send us all the recordings?” 

“Of course” Lykon said as they stood up to put everything away. 

“So what did you think?” Joe asked Nicky. 

“I love it. It’s really interesting to see how you all work” he said. 

“I’m stealing these” Andy said grabbing the box. 

“I brought them for you” Nicky told her with a smile. She pulled him into a hug with a grin. She looked at Joe once she pulled away. “You better keep him close or I’m stealing him” 

They all left and the couple sat down on the couch. “I really love the song. Can’t wait to hear it completed” Nicky complimented. 

“Thanks habibi” Joe leaned in for a kiss. “You want to go out or just hang out here?” 

“We can just stay here. Maybe watch a movie. Maybe cuddle” Joe chuckled and nodded his head. 

“I can arrange that” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? What will you like to happen next for the couple. Another date, another sex scene, maybe another work scene. Thank you for reading and supporting this. I really didn't think people would like this so I'm really thankful for all the love. See you all soon and stay safe out there.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a new chapter. I know I'm surprised too. i haven't been able to sleep for the past week and started finding different music on Youtube. So through this chapter there is links to the songs that inspired the scenes. Hope you enjoy and warning very filth smut.

Joe unlocked the apartment door with the key that Nicky gave him. In the past two months, the two somehow got even closer. In the mornings, Joe will accompany his boyfriend to Firelight. The cafe was becoming very popular where Nicky had to hire another worker. James Copley was a very kind gentleman who made coffee fast and good. And that's all that mattered to Nicky which earned Copley the job. 

Joe would draw Nicky as the man would bake and chat about nonsense in between. They would kiss a bit before Nicky will prepare an iced americano to go. He will give it to Joe with a kiss on the cheek and good luck for work. Joe will go to the recording studio where the band will be and they would spend hours making sure the tracks were recorded perfectly. Some days they won’t leave the studio, others they will leave early since they were on the brink of an argument. Joe and Nicky will sometimes go out for a dinner date or just stay in Nicky’s apartment. Nicky would prepare a true homemade Italian dinner for them and wouldn’t allow Joe to help. They will watch a movie or tv show before heading to bed. Some nights they would have sweet sensual sex. Other nights they would just cuddle and softly talk about their future. Then it started over the next day and the both of them love the routine. 

Joe walked into the kitchen to see his stunning boyfriend. Nicky didn’t have his usual generic haircut. He was letting his hair grow out to the point where he can put his hair in a small ponytail. He had some scruff on his face and he looked so sexy that everyone would stare when they went out. 

“Hey babe. Guess what” Joe moved to hug his sexy boyfriend from behind. 

“What? You picked up the wine I asked for?” 

“Uh no” Joe said guiltily since he forgot about the wine. “We finished recording” 

“Really?” Nicky turned around with a huge smile. “You’re kidding?” 

“Nope. Completely done. Meaning no more late nights stuck in the studio” Joe kissed Nicky with a smile. 

“So now what? What happens now?” he asked. 

“Well now we give it a month or two for management to arrange our tour and when the album will be out. Next step for us is just to figure out what songs will be our singles” Nicky looked at him confused. “That means what songs we would want to be made into a music video and played on the radio” 

“Oh okay. So which ones were you thinking about?” he asked as he went back to his cooking. 

“Not sure yet. I was wondering if you will listen to the full album to help me pick. If you want to?”

“I will love to, darling” Joe kissed Nicky’s cheek before sitting down at the table to stay out of the way. 

“The band wants to go to the club tonight to celebrate. It’s up to you if you want to go” 

“If you want to” Nicky kept stirring the sauce he was trying to season perfectly. 

Joe stood up to go into the fridge for a bottle of water. “I can go either way”

“I’ve never been to an English club so why not” Nicky grabbed plates from the cabinet to serve them. “Now let’s eat, my love” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They got to the location that Nile texted them to go to. Joe was really tempted to just stay home since, holy fuck, did his boyfriend look hot. The stunning Italian man wore tight black skinny jeans that hugged his ass perfectly. He wore a white tank top and one of Joe’s leather jackets over it. He had half of his blond brown hair up in a ponytail to keep out of his eyes. 

Joe was wearing a pair of denim jeans and a band shirt tucked in. Nicky very much wanted to tackle his boyfriend from seeing those strong arms on display. 

They walked into the loud crowded club holding hands so they won’t get lost. Booker texted Joe saying they had a table somehow so they were searching for the group. 

“Joe!” They turned to see Nile trying to push past people to them. They got to her and Joe pulled her into a half hug. She led them to the booth where everyone was sitting. 

“Fucking finally you two got here!” Andy yelled as she threw her arms in the air as hello. 

“Hello Andy. Hello Q” Joe said as he noticed Quynh sitting next to his friend with a drink in hand. 

“Hey Joe. Boss” Quynh said back. She would call Nicky a close friend now, but still stuck with calling him boss. 

“Babe, I wanna dance” Andy said as she kissed her girlfriend's cheek. They headed to the dance floor as Andy shouted excited. The couple took their seats as Joe reached for one of the beers in the tray of ice on the middle of the table. He understood why the band got a table since Joe couldn’t imagine waiting for a drink at the bar. He opened the bottle and handed it to Nicky before grabbing one for himself. 

“Hey Nicky. This is my girlfriend Julie” Booker introduced. Nicky reached across the table to shake her hand. She looked small next to Booker and had long blond hair. She was very beautiful so he can see why the man was dating her. 

“Nice to meet you” She smiled. “Joe” She simply said as her smile vanished. 

Joe didn’t say anything as he took a swig of his beer. He never really liked Julie. She was very fake when it came to talking to them and Joe honestly believes she doesn’t have the same feelings as Booker has for her.

Nicky didn’t point out the awkward tension since he knew about her dislike for his boyfriend. “Hey Sebastien” Nicky called out. Once he knew what Booker’s real name was, he always used it. He hasn’t been told exactly why the man had the nickname Booker. He was sure there was a crazy story to the name.

“What was the name of that French cafe in town again? I keep saying I’m gonna go to check their pastries out” The two ended up talking about French cuisine like everytime they talked. They were both very proud of their countries so it was always interesting conversations. 

"So how long have you been with Joe? A week?" Julie asked. Joe bit his tongue and took a swig of his beer. 

Nicky saw his boyfriend's anger though and wasn't pleased. "Almost three months now. Feels a lot longer though" 

Joe smiled that sweet small smile that was reserved just for Nicolo. They were pulled out of their gaze by none other than Julie. 

"Joseph is usually the fuck em and leave them type of guy" 

Nicky bit his cheek as he turned his now cold gaze to her. "His real name isn't Joseph you fucking idiot" 

"Babe-" Joe tried to stop his boyfriend before Booker or Julie got mad at him for saying the wrong thing. 

"His name is Yusuf Al Kaysani and he's my boyfriend. I know all about his one night stands so I don't need to hear your comments"

Before Julie could open her mouth, Nile ran over to take off her jacket. “Hold that for me” she told Booker after throwing it at him. Booker just handed it over to Lykon who was sitting quietly in the corner. He was more of a people watcher than participating. Nile noticed the tense energy and wouldn't stand for it. “Come dance with me!” She held Joe’s hand and was pulling him. 

“No. You go on” Joe told her. He was too worked up to go dance.

“Fine. Then let’s take shots” She grabbed the bottle of tequila they ordered when they got there. She poured them all a shot and handed it to them. Andy and Quynh came over once they saw the shots being poured.  “Cheers to finally finishing this fucking album!” Andy shouted as they lifted their glasses as cheers before throwing the shot back. “Now let’s fucking [dance](https://youtu.be/4GmLoVGmgDw)! I love this song!” Nile shouted as the three girls went off into the crowd. 

Nicky poured himself and Joe another shot. He then stood up and held both of Joe’s hands. He really didn't want to be in Julie's presence. It seems like Booker was upset as he was talking into his girlfriend's ear.

“Let’s dance” Joe really couldn’t argue with him and stood up. Nicky quickly threw back another shot before he dragged Joe to the dance floor.

“Hey Nicky!” Nile shouted excitedly when she saw him walking over. They both started dancing to the beat as Joe watched while sipping his beer. He was never one to go to clubs but it seemed like Nicky has. He was hopping around and swaying his hips like he has danced to the song before. Joe finished his beer and could feel the shots start to hit him. The song changed and Joe watched as Nicky's face lit up with excitement.

The song was a famous [track](https://youtu.be/gvpnEHP70N0) usually played in clubs in Italy. He remembers dancing to it with his sister the last time they went out dancing. 

Nicky felt like time stopped as he turned to look at Joe. The song started out a bit slower than the songs before until the vocals came in. They just both took in each other's beauty as the red and orange lights hit their bodies. 

Joe never felt so much love for a person until this moment. He always read in books about realizing that someone is that person for you, almost like a movie scene. In that moment he felt it though. He felt like he was finally seeing the light and that Nicky was his one. He already knew he was, but this moment. This fucking moment was beautiful and so much more. 

He moved closer to place a hand on Nicky’s hip as they leaned their foreheads together. They tenderly kissed as the lyrics,  _ "We will find some love and we will find some light. We will never be alone cause everything will be so bright" _

Nicky broke the kiss and stepped back as he let his body start moving to the building beat. Joe started dancing the same rhythm as Nicky as they kept their eyes on each other. 

Nicky lifted his arms over his head and had his eyes closed as he let the music take over. As the song was slowing tempos they pressed their bodies to each other as they kept dancing. Joe kissed Nicky's check before the man turned so his back was against his chest. 

The man kept dancing with Joe against his back as he smiled. Joe wrapped his arms around his love as he heard the line,  _ "When you hold me I'm _ alive". He pressed a kiss to Nicolo's temple as they slowed to a sway. Nicky turned his head so they can kiss as they kept moving. It turned from a soft kiss to a sloppy make out session.

They didn't even notice the [song](https://youtu.be/_3T8KznhThQ) changed until Andy bumped into them as she shouted the lyric,  _ "Mother Russia in my cup". _

Joe and Nicky laughed as they watched Andy and Nile start singing the lyrics to each other. They then proceeded to jump around and whip their hair around as the beat dropped.

The couple looked at each other and decided why not join in. They were all laughing and dancing like a bunch of idiots with their hands in the air.

They were already sweating from being in the crowd and dancing. The alcohol in their bloodstream probably wasn’t helping. 

Nile moved close to Nicky to say into his ear, “I can take your jacket” Nicky shrugged out of his jacket and thanked her as he handed it to her. She went off to throw the jacket at Booker like she did with her own. She took a shot and poured two more. She carefully carried them to the couple since she felt they needed more booze. 

Nicky was moving more sexy now as he grinded back against his boyfriend. Joe was now moving in sync with Nicky’s hips as he pressed his face against his neck. “You’re so fucking hot” Joe told him. 

Nicky kept dancing as the song changed. He turned so he was facing Joe. He wrapped his arms around his neck as he kept swaying his hips.  _ “Ti amo tanto. Non vedo l'ora che tu mi fotti stasera”  _ **_(I love you so much. I can't wait for you to fuck me tonight)_ **

Joe gripped Nicky’s hips hard upon hearing what Nicky slurred out. He placed kisses on Nicky’s neck as they kept dancing in sync. 

“Hey! We’re all heading out!” Booker patted Joe’s shoulder to get them to follow them out. Joe wrapped his arm around Nicky’s shoulders as they left the building with the group. Andy and Quynh were beyond wasted as they hung off of each other. Nile was still in party mood and was dancing around Lykon, who was just sipping beers all night. Booker was acting as mother and trying to get them all in the Uber. 

“Come on you two” Booker told Nicky and Joe as he finally got Nile into the car. The couple were making out against the street lamp since Joe was really worked up from all the dancing.

Nicky pulled away and turned to the French man.  _ “Oh Sebastien! Sei così bello. Perché stai con quella cagna bionda? Julie è così scortese. Ti meriti il vero amore come Yusuf e me.”  _ **_(Oh Sebastien! You are so Beautiful. Why are you with that blonde bitch? Julie is so rude. You deserve true love like Yusuf and me.)_ **

“I have no idea what you told me but get in the car” Booker said as he watched them laugh while Joe wrapped an arm around Nicky. 

They kept laughing as Joe helped Nicky into the vehicle. Joe looked at his friend and said, “He called Julie a bitch and that you need real love” He patted Booker’s cheek before getting into the car. Booker looked into the car to see his girlfriend looked mad. 

Their first stop was thankfully Joe’s and Nicky’s since Nicky’s apartment was fairly close to the club. “Bye Nicolo!” Andy slurred out as she leaned over the seat to place a sloppy kiss on Nicky’s cheek and then Joe’s. 

_ “Arrivederci a tutti. Vi amo tutti. Sono così felice di averti potuto incontrare”  _ Nicky waved at them as he got out of the car. He almost fell out but Joe caught him.  __ **_(Goodbye to everyone. I love you all. I am so glad I was able to meet you.)_ **

Joe closed the door and hit the door to tell the driver to go. They walked into the building and went up the flight of stairs until they finally reached their home. Joe unlocked the door and Nicky stumbled inside. He was kicking off his shoes as he held the wall to not fall. Joe took off his own shoes before moving to embrace Nicky from behind. He turned around in the hold so their lips could meet in a sloppy kiss. Nicky pushed Joe against the wall before getting on his knees. He clumsily unbuckled Joe’s jeans as Joe reached down to undo the hair up in a ponytail. He finally managed to pull down Joe’s jeans and underwear past his thighs. He kissed the leaking head of his cock and licked up all the precum. He wrapped his lips around the hard length and closed his eyes. Joe can really write songs and draw art of how religious it was to have Nicolo’s lips wrapped around him. 

He pulled off to lick Joe from the base all the way to the leaking tip. He would love to keep sucking and licking his boyfriends perfect dick, but he would much rather have it in him. He grabbed Joe’s hand to pull him into the bedroom. He pushed him onto the bed before stripping all his clothes off. Joe scrambled to pull off his own clothes. 

Nicky got on the bed and pushed Yusuf to rest against the headboard. He grabbed Nicky's face so he could pull him in to kiss his lips. While Nicky leaned over to grab the lube from the drawer, Yusuf started kissing and leaving marks on his chest. He opened the lube and poured some on his fingers. He let out a moan as Joe moved his mouth to suck on his sensitive nipples. He moved his hand behind himself to open himself up. He was letting out small moans as Yusuf was worshiping his body with his lips and hands. 

While Joe was kissing Nicolo’s chest, his hands were rubbing his sides and slowly moving down to rub those strong thighs. He moved his hands behind him to grab at his ass. He kneaded the flesh as he moved and sat up to kiss Nicky’s neck. 

_ “ahbak kthyraan ya eazizti”  _ He muttered out as he kept appreciating his lover’s body.  **_(I love you so much, my dear)._ **

_ “Ti cavalcherò così fottutamente bene. Sarà tutto ciò a cui pensi per anni”  _ Nicky pulled his fingers out of his now stretched hole. He pushed Yusuf so his back hit the headboard.  **_(I'll ride you so fucking good. It will be all you think about for years)_ **

“Oh allah. How did I ever get you?” Joe groaned as Nicky poured lube on his cock before moving his hands to Joe’s strong shoulders. He lifted himself up and moved a hand to guide Yusuf to his entrance. They both groaned at the feeling as they rested their foreheads together. Nicky rolled his hips and let out a small gasp. He will forever be in amazement at how Yusuf’s cock rubbed him in all the right ways. It was like he was made just for him. 

Yusuf moved his head to kiss Nicolo’s cheek as he held the man’s hips. Nicky sat straight up and started lifting his body to start riding the man. “Fuck” Yusuf moaned out as he threw his head back and gripped Nicolo’s hips tighter. It wasn’t just the feeling of Nicolo riding him, but it was the loud moans he was letting out. Nicolo kept his hands on Yusuf’s shoulders as he threw his own head back as he started moving faster, searching for his release. 

_ “No. Non abbastanza”  _ Nicky mumbled out. He lifted himself off of Joe, who was confused.  _ “Fottimi da dietro”  _ **_(No. Not enough. Fuck me from behind)._ **

“Fuck. Okay” Yusuf was surprised by the sudden request for a position change. Nicky moved to be on his hands and knees while Joe moved to be behind him. He bit his lip at seeing how wet Nicky’s stretched hole was from all the lube. He slowly pressed into Nicky and it felt like heaven. He placed his hard grip on Nicky’s hips again as he started snapping his hips.  _ “Più forte. Fottimi più forte Yusuf”  _ He moaned out.  **_(Harder. Fuck me harder Yusuf)._ **

He followed his boyfriend’s order and was pleased to hear that loud whining moan. He kept thrusting hard and fast as the headboard started banging against the wall.  _ “Sculacciami Joe. Usami, cazzo”  _ Nicky whined out.  **_(Spank me Joe. Use me, fuck)_ **

Joe groaned at hearing the request and moved his right hand away from Nicky. He lifted his hand and brought it down to Nicky’s ass causing the loud slapping sound. “Fuck!” Nicky moaned out loudly.  _ “Di Più”  _ **_(More)._ **

Yusuf kept fucking Nicky’s hole as he kept spanking his ass until it was a bright red. Nicolo felt his arms giving out on him from the pleasure and pain. His upper body fell down on the mattress as he cried out in pleasure. He saw white as he came on the sheets. Yusuf kept abusing his hole until he felt himself coming. He pressed his hips against Nicky’s ass as he rode out his orgasam. He pulled out and moved to lay next to Nicky’s numb body. Nicolo was laying flat on his stomach now, not caring if his mess is getting on him. He felt pure bliss and relaxed. He turned his face against the pillow to look at Joe, the love of his life. 

“Love you” Nicky whispered out with an already strained voice. 

Joe smiled and lifted his hand to move Nicky’s hair from his face. “I love you too, my Nicolo”

Nicky closed his eyes and started to drift to sleep. Joe watched as his love slept and was gonna lift the blanket to cover them when he realized he should take care of Nicky. He got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom to grab a washcloth and lotion. He placed the bottle of lotion next to Nicky’s sleeping body. 

“Shit” Joe murmured when he realized that they didn’t use a condom. “Fuck” He said as he wiped away his cum and the lube from the swollen hole. He shouldn't have been so rough, but it seemed like it was what Nicolo wanted. He grabbed the lotion to massage into the red flesh.

He heard Nicky hum and looked to see the man turning his head to look at him with squinted eyes. “Just cleaning you up. You’ll have to turn around though, habibi” Joe softly spoke. 

Nicky moved to lay on his side since he knew it wouldn’t feel good to lay on his back. Joe used the washcloth to clean up Nicky’s release on his stomach. He grabbed his shirt to throw over the wet patch on the bed since he couldn’t change the sheet at that moment. Nicky already fallen back to sleep so Joe put the washcloth and lotion on the bedside table. He laid down behind Nicky so they can sleep in their usual position. Nicky hummed happily as he lifted his hand to tangle with Joe’s. What a great way to celebrate was all Joe thought before falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I actually wrote this fairly easy with the music so I might keep using more music to inspire chapters. The song used for Joe and Nicky's moment is everything to me. The video screams Joe and Nicky to me and it's just so perfect. Anyway let me know what you think in the comment section and what you think will happen in the next chapter (which I have half written already). Hopefully I'll be posting again soon but no promises. Love you all and stay safe out there.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourself for cuteness.

Nicolo woke up from his lovely dream to groan upon feeling the oncoming headache. He really wanted to stay in bed, but knew better. He got up and grabbed a pair of sweats to put on. He rubbed his head as he walked across the hall into the bathroom. He used the toilet before brushing his teeth. He left the room and walked down the hall and towards the kitchen. 

“Morning sunshine” Joe said from the table. He put his sketchbook down as he smiled at Nicky who was stretching in the doorway. 

“What time is it?” He asked as he moved to the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee. 

Joe looked at his phone and said, “It’s noon” 

“Shit. The cafe” 

“It’s fine, habibi. I already called Copley to open and if there is an emergency to call me” 

“Thank you my love” Nicky walked over to Joe to kiss his forehead before sitting down. He winced and was confused until he remembered last night. 

“Oh here” Joe quickly stood up and grabbed a pillow from the couch. He placed it on the chair and let Nicky sit back down. “Sorry. Later on I’ll put more lotion on it”

“It’s fine, love. If I remember correctly I asked for it” Nicky smiled behind his cup before taking a sip of the hot coffee. 

Joe softly laughed as he thought back to last night. “About that” Nicky raised an eyebrow at the tone that his boyfriend was talking in. Sounded like regret. 

“If you don't like it then we don’t have to do it again. I was drunk so-”

“No. It's not that. I really really liked the sex last night” Joe reassure him cause he did. Sure he enjoys making love to his Nicolo but it was pretty amazing to just fuck like animals. “We didn’t use a condom”

“Oh okay” Nicky nodded. 

“Just okay. You’re not mad or upset?”

“Why would I be? It’s not like I can get pregnant from not using a condom once” Joe was gonna argue against that statement, but Nicky kept talking. “Even if I am, it’s not like I can go to the doctor right after one day. I’ll have to wait some time to go check if I am” 

“Okay. I was worried you would be upset with me” 

“We were both drunk so it’s understandable” They got quiet as they both thought about their actions. “I mean it is really early to be having a kid together. Right?” 

“Yeah. I mean only three months and maybe pregnant” 

“Maybe” Nicky put emphasis on the word. 

“Yeah” Joe nodded his head as he bit his lip. 

“Don’t you dare start smiling”

“I’m not. I swear” Joe said as he lifted his hand to pretend to scratch his beard, but was really trying to hide his mouth. 

“Just cause you’re hiding behind your hand doesn’t mean you’re not smiling” Nicky was smiling now as he reached to move Joe’s hand away. 

“Okay. I’m sorry, but is a baby all that bad? I mean they would be so cute” 

“Yes they would be very cute, but it’s early in our relationship for that. Plus with your work. You’re about to go on tour Yusuf. Just imagine you traveling the world while I’m here alone pregnant” 

“Yes. That isn’t ideal at all, but. But” He leaned in his seat to grab Nicky’s hands to hold. “A baby, Nicolo. A perfect mixture of you and me” 

Nicky laughed and shook his head. “You’re the worst. You know that?” 

“Yeah. That’s why you’re with me” Joe smiled sweetly at him. Nicky scrunched his nose before sticking his tongue out at Joe. 

Joe let out a loud laugh at the action. “You hungry? I can make you an omelet” Joe decided on dropping the subject. 

“I’m starving” Joe grinned as he let go of Nicky’s hands to stand up. He went to the fridge to pull at the ingredients needed to make the meal. As he was letting the pan heat up, he reached into the cabinet to grab the ibuprofen. “Here. It’ll help your hangover” He placed two pills in front of Nicky. 

“Thanks” Nicky took the medicine with his coffee. He watched as Joe started cracking eggs in a bowl. He rarely lets Joe cook, but now he might reconsider. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was only wearing sweats and no shirt that made him look so sexy while cooking. He also wasn’t sure if it was the conversation they just had but Nicky could just imagine Joe cooking while their child hugged his leg, wanting to be picked up. He’s had dreams of how their children looked in their past lives, but the thought of seeing their children with his own eyes would bring him so much joy. 

“Yusuf” He called out. 

Joe turned around with a spatula in hand. “Yeah” 

Nicky smiled as he rested his cheek against his hand. “I would love to have your child” 

Joe put down the spatula before walking to stand in front of his boyfriend. He held Nicolo’s face gently as he kissed his lips. Nicky smiled into the kiss since he could feel all of Yusuf’s love for him through the kiss. 

Yusuf smiled and kissed Nicky’s cheek before getting back to the food. It was peaceful as Joe kept cooking and Nicky sipped his coffee. Joe started humming softly which Nicky found soothing. They ate together as Joe told him about how angry Andy was when he called. 

“I feel like I may have been rude last night” Nicky said as he felt like more events from last night were coming back to him. 

“If you mean calling Julie a bitch and an idiot. No. You weren’t rude at all. Stating facts? That you did” 

“Yusuf” Nicky scolded. “That is rude of me to say especially since I don’t know her. I’m sure Sebastien is mad at me for saying such things about his girlfriend” 

“He knows it’s true though. We’ve all told him how terrible she is. Maybe now that someone other than us has said it he’ll break up with her”

“Yusuf” Nicky scolded again. Joe held up his hands as a truce before Nicky can get mad at him. Nicky stood up and placed his empty plate and fork into the sink. “I’m gonna take a shower and then I will listen to the wonderful album you made”

Joe smiled as his boyfriend walked over to kiss his cheek. “Alright. I’m gonna clean up in here” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nicky walks into the living room while towel drying his hair. “Hey babe. I sent the audio file to you so whenever you want to give it a listen” 

“Okay. I was just gonna grab a snack” Nicky told him as he walked to the kitchen. Joe stayed seated on the couch with charcoal all over his hands from his drawing. Nicky went over to give him a quick kiss with a bowl of fruit in hand. “I'm gonna listen to it in the room by myself. You stay out here a keep doing your thing” 

“Alright. Love you” Yusuf smiled as he watched Nicky walk down the hall. He really hopes he likes the [album](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u0iHMAtBK8&list=PLPOVSQSnwvddVRv7fbUU_Y8ZwK4OcwvOP). 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Yusuf migrated to sit on the window sill in the living room as he kept drawing. He was sketching some of the house plants Nicky constantly tended to. It was cute when he saw Nicolo talking to the plants in Italian, encouraging them to grow better. He heard the bedroom door open and looked up to see Nicky holding the now empty bowl. 

“Hey habibi. So what did you think?” 

“I love it” He said as he went to place the bowl in the clean sink. 

Joe got up and wiped his hands on the towel he always uses when he is making his art. “Really? Which tracks do you think we should make into singles?” 

“Um” Nicky rubbed the back of his ear as he tried to think. “Maybe Crystallized and Mind Over Matter” 

“That’s what I was thinking, but Booker was saying It’s About Time. Did you have a favorite song?” 

“I really love Firelight of course and Eros” Nicky was pouring himself a glass of wine as he was talking. 

“I’m really glad you like you. So much of it was inspired by you. By us” Joe realized that Nicky was quiet and was staring into his wine glass. “What’s wrong?”  “I just” Nicolo placed his glass on the counter and started playing with the family ring he always wears on his right hand. “Why is it you use female pronouns in your music? Does your listeners not know you’re gay?” 

“Oh uh” Joe really wasn’t expecting that question. “Uh no actually they don’t. Only my friends know about my sexuallity” 

“And you’re family?” he asked. 

Joe just looked at Nicky before saying, “No. They don’t know” 

“Your parents don’t know” 

“Yeah. Um, I just never got around to it”

“That’s something big to not tell them. You always made it sound like you were close with your mother yet she doesn’t know a huge part of who you are” 

“It’s different, Nicolo. In my culture it's very bad to be with a man. It’s punishable in certain Arabic areas”

“But you’re parents raised you in the Netherlands as a child and then to America”

“It doesn’t matter where we’ve lived!” Joe raised his voice since he didn’t want to have this conversation. “They’re Muslim and it’s unjust to be gay. My parents are expecting me to marry a Muslim woman and give them grandchildren” 

“You could still give them grandchildren by being with me!” Nicky raised his own voice. “You talk about wanting to marry me and have children, yet what would you tell them when the time comes! What would you tell them, Yusuf? Huh?” Joe just looked at Nicky with crossed arms and clenched jaw. “That I’m just a friend? A friend you just so happen to fuck?” “Stop” Joe softly said. “Whatever the fuck this is just stop” he rubbed his hands over his face as he sighed. “I love you Nicolo. You know I do. I would love to tell my parents about you and how I want to build a future with you, but they are very religious and they won’t take the news of their only son being gay very lightly” 

Nicky realized how wrong he was to be pressuring his boyfriend to come out. “I’m sorry. I should be more understanding” He walked across the room to pull Yusuf into a hug. “I love you and I’m sorry. You tell them whenever you want” 

He felt Joe wrap his arms around him and kiss his forehead. “It’s okay. Just know that I will tell them. I’ll tell the whole world about our love one day” 

“You really don’t have to. I know how scary it is to come out”

“Really? How was it telling your parents you liked men?” Joe asked. 

“Oh it was very fun breaking the news to them” Nicky moved to drink some of his wine. “The doctor had explained to my parents and me about my fully formed womb. Mother was very upset and said there was no need to know the information since her son isn’t gonna have sex with men since we very catholic. Funny thing is I had just lost my virginity to a slightly older boy just a week before. We don’t really talk about how I can get pregnant or the fact that I’m gay” Nicky set his glass back down. 

“I really shouldn’t have been so harsh to you. My parents are super religious as well so that’s why they don’t acknowledge my sexuality. I would like to think they would like you though” 

“Yeah. What would they like about me?” Joe asked as he moved closer to put his hands on Nicky’s hips. 

“They would love your art and will definitely see how handsome you are. How caring and protective you are” Joe smiled as he thought about going to Italy and meeting Nicolo’s family. 

“My mother would love you. She would think you’re very beautiful and will never stop complimenting your eyes” 

“More than you do?” Nicky joked. 

“A lot more. She would share her baklava recipe with you even though she has never given it to anyone before. My father would want to talk about all the Italian architecture since he always reads magazines about buildings. They would love you” 

Nicky kissed Joe before resting his head on his shoulder. They both had issues with their families, but they had each other and that’s all that matters. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe left his apartment and made his way to Firelight. He finally went back to his home after staying at Nicky’s place for another two weeks. He felt like he lived at the man’s home rather than his own. He called a band meeting so they could talk about the songs they will make into singles. 

He walked into the establishment to see the group was already there. He waved at Quynh who nodded and started making his drink order. Nicky texted him telling him that he had to run an errand. 

“Hey. Sorry I’m late” Joe said as he took a seat. 

“It’s cool. Andy was waxing poetry about the pastries for the millionth time” Nile said with an eye roll. 

“No surprise there” Joe smiled at them. They started talking about work and they all agreed on Crystallized and Mind Over Matter for their singles. Lykon texted their manager the decision while Andy and Nile started to think of music video concepts.    


“Nicky isn’t in today?” Andy asked. 

“He told me he had something to do. He’ll probably come in later on though” Joe told them. 

“I broke up with Julie” They whipped their heads to look at Booker who was quiet through their whole meeting. 

“No way. You’re fucking with us” Andy said. 

“Nope. Broke up with her after we went to the club” Joe smiled and patted him on the shoulder. 

“Good for you man. Now you can find some true love” 

“Or drink your sorrows” Andy suggested. Nile hit her shoulder as she laughed. 

They heard the door being shoved open and they looked to see Nicky. “What’s up with him?” Andy questioned. Nicky rushed over and fakely smiled. 

“Hello everyone. Yusuf, back now” He said before rushing away.    


“Ooo you’re in trouble” Nile teased. 

“Shut up” Joe told them as he stood up and followed after his boyfriend. He patted Quynh’s back as he walked past her. He walked into the back to see Nicolo pacing the area in front of the large fridge. 

“What’s going on?” Joe asked as he stepped closer to the worried man. Copley walked into the room to ask his boss a question. 

_“Esci!”_ Nicky shouted. **_(Go out!)_**

Copley went wide eyed, unsure what to do. “Leave” Joe simply translated for the poor man. 

“Hey. What’s wrong? Talk to me” Joe grabbed his hands to see they were shaking. “Nicolo.  _ parlami tesoro”  _ **_(Talk to me honey)_ **

“I’m pregnant” Joe wasn’t sure if he heard the man right. “I went to the doctors and they ran tests and they were positive” 

“Are you joking?” Joe asked.  _ “Sei davvero incinta?”  _ **_(Are you really pregnant?)_ **

“Do I look like I’m  _ scherzoso _ ?” Nicky moved away from Yusuf to start pacing again while one hand gripped his hair. “The doctor said you must have super sperm since it usually takes more than one try to conceive, yet here we are, Yusuf”

Nicky turned to look at his boyfriend and felt even more irritated to see the man smiling.  _ “Perchè stai sorridendo?”  _ **_(Why are you smiling?)_ **

Joe kept smiling as he stepped closer to Nicky again. “A baby. Our baby” 

“I know. I already told you that” Yusuf wrapped his arms around Nicolo’s waist as he kept smiling at him. 

“Then why are you panicking? We talked about this before?” 

“Yeah. That was when it was a maybe. Now it’s real. I’m expecting and you’re gonna be leaving for the tour. Yusuf this wasn’t planned” 

“I know that habibi” Yusuf held Nicolo’s hands again. “Nothing good is ever planned. We will get through this. I will talk to management about making the tour shorter or something. I’ll figure it out. We will be okay. We are in this together” 

Nicky nodded his head and threw his arms around his love. Joe can feel Nicky shaking and immediately got concerned again. “Nicolo” 

Nicky let out a wet laugh as he pulled out of the embrace a bit. “Just overwhelmed” he simply said as he moved to wipe his tears away. Yusuf lifted his own hands to delicately wipe the tears away. 

“I know. It’s really life changing” Joe suddenly felt overwhelmed as well. A child. They were gonna have a child. He’s gonna be a fucking dad. Sure he always loved the idea of being a father, but now it’s really happening. He let his happiness overpower the worry since he wanted to make Nicolo calm. 

“I’m happy though. It may not seem like it right now, but I am. I meant it when I said I wanted to have your child” Nicky softly told him while Joe kept cradling his face with both of his hands. 

“I didn’t doubt that you weren’t happy, darling” Yusuf said with a grin. He leaned in and kissed Nicolo with surprising softness for how excited he felt. Nicky kissed back until he started laughing into the kiss. Joe couldn’t help but laugh as well while the man just leaned against him. 

“Holy shit. We’re gonna be parents” Nicky laughed out. They both ended up just standing in the kitchen laughing against each other and occasionally kissing. Joe would say in the future that this moment was one he’ll always remember. One of the memories he will tell their child in the future. They were gonna be okay because they were having a baby out of love. It didn’t matter that they haven’t been together for long because they knew that they were meant for each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Nicky is pregnant. I hope you liked this chapter and let me know what you think will happen next. Thank you so much for reading and stay safe out there.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. So this chapter has a little bit of everything so I hope you like. Don't know if you noticed but I do use Google Translate to do all the Italian speaking scenes. I try to do some research about Muslim culture since I don't wanna come off disrespectful. I also researched a bit about citizenship in Europe. I found interesting information which will be used in a future chapter. If I got information wrong at any point you're free to correct me. Hope you like this chapter and excuse any mistakes.

“Yusuf, where’s that thing at?” Joe heard his boyfriend yell from the bedroom. He leaned against the couch armrest to look down the hall.    


“What thing?” He called back. Nicky rushed out of the room with his hair a mess and his button up definitely not buttoned up. 

“That thing!” Nicky was looking around the living room frustrated. “The um” he stood up from looking under the coffee table. He ran his hand through his hair. “Uh fucking hell. I just bought them at the store” 

“Can you tell me what the thing is in Italian maybe?” Joe suggested as he put his sketchbook and pencils down on the table. 

_ “Uh cosa elastica”  _ He said as he moved to look in the bookcase. 

Joe raised his eyebrow confused. Recently Nicky has been falling back on his native language more than usual. Joe understood the language from the short three months Andy and him decided to rent a vacation home in Italy. He didn’t fully understand Italian slang which is exactly what Nicolo has started using more. 

The man decided on using context clues rather than irritating his lover more. They were getting ready to go to the doctors for a check up, which Nicky was nervous about. The day he found out he was expecting he declined having an ultrasound done since he wanted Yusuf to be there. 

It seemed like Nicky was doing his hair from how his hair was combed. He was starting to get dressed until he started searching for the elastic thing. He did say he just bought the item so Joe tried to remember what they just bought from the store yesterday. 

“Oh” Joe got up from the couch and went to the bathroom. He opened the bottom drawer and grabbed the pack of hair ties he saw Nicky throw in there. He walked out of the bathroom to see Nicky looking in the kitchen drawers. “Was the hair ties what you’re looking for?”

“Sì” Nicky grinned as he grabbed the hair ties from Joe. “I love you so much” He kissed his cheek before walking back to the bedroom. 

Joe shook his head and decided on going back to drawing till Nicky was ready to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were sitting in the examination room waiting for the doctor to come in. Nicky sat on top of the table while Joe sat in the chair nearby. They held hands and Yusuf decided on talking to distract the man from his nerves. 

“Are you gonna want to be there when I tell the band about the baby?” He asked. 

“If you want. We should tell them after the appointment so you can talk to uh” he paused as he tried to think of the right word. He snapped his fingers and said,  _ “gestione”  _

“I’ll text them to meet at Firelight. Then I’ll talk to management” 

The door opened and in walked a female doctor. “Hello I’m Dr. Wilson. You must be Mr. Genova” 

“Yes. Nicky is fine” he said as he shook the doctors hand. “This is my boyfriend Joe” Dr. Wilson smiled and shook Joe’s hand. 

“So it says here that you are expecting a baby. It’s very early so the ultrasound will have to be an internal ultrasound. Is that okay?” she asked Nicky. The man squinted as he tried to understand the woman. He looked at his boyfriend to see if he can translate. 

“That’s fine. We just want to be sure everything is okay” Joe said. "Sorry he has a hard time understanding certain words people say with an accent" 

“Understandable. I have a couple of other patients who have the same problem" she looked at Nicky to address him. "’m gonna need you to take your pants off. Here’s a towel to put over your lap to cover you” 

She handed him the thin cloth and turned her back to put on gloves. Nicky followed instructions while Joe watched confused. He still had no idea what an internal ultrasound was.

The doctor turned around and pulled the equipment closer to the examination table. She grabbed the transducer and put lubrication on the item. “If you can just take even breaths for me” she asked. 

Nicky turned his head to look at Joe as he took steady even breaths as he felt the transducer enter him. “Did that just?” Joe pointed down where the towel was blocking his view. 

Nicky and Dr. Wilson both laughed at the man's expression of shock. “Yes. Why do you look so surprised?” Nicky had the procedure done when he first found out he was a carrier. The doctor wanted to make sure he did have a fully developed womb which was incredibly weird and scary for the seventeen year old Nicolo. 

"Just wasn't expecting that" 

The doctor turned the monitor to face the couple. “If you can see here” she pointed at the grainy black and white picture. “This small blob is your baby. I’d say you’re about three weeks along” 

The couple stared at the monitor in amazement as they let the doctor hit the buttons to take a picture. The reality hit them as Nicky felt himself crying and Joe was honestly closed to tears as well. 

“Our baby” Nicky whispered out. 

Joe smiled as he lifted their entwined hands to kiss Nicky’s knuckles. “Our baby” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The couple walked into Firelight holding hands and smiling brightly. “Oh fuck. Why do they look happier than usual?” Booker said as the rest of the band turned to look towards the counter where they were placing their order with Quynh. 

“They do” Nile was in amazement since she didn't think they could get even more happy. 

“Should we be worried?” Andy questioned. 

“Hey guys” Joe waved as he pulled a chair over for Nicolo. “Sorry for calling for an emergency meeting” 

“It’s okay. What did you want to tell us?” Andy asked. 

“Really amazing news” Joe told them as he started into Nicky’s beautiful eyes. 

“Here’s your drinks” Quynh placed the glasses on the table. She was about to walk away, but Joe stopped her.

“Please stay, Q. You should hear the news as well” 

“Oh uh. Sure” Andy pushed her chair back so her girlfriend can sit on her lap. 

“You wanna tell them?” Joe asked Nicky. 

“I think you should” Nicky smiled as he took a sip of his cooling drink. 

“Very well” he looked at all his friends and grinned. “We’re gonna have a baby” 

The group looked confused as Andy spoke up. “How can you adopt so soon when you haven’t been together for long?” 

“No adoption” Nicky shook his head. 

“Nicolo is the small percentage of men who can carry” 

“So you’re actually pregnant?” Nile asked in amazement. “I’ve only met two other carriers in my whole life” 

“Well you’re young” Booker mumbled out. 

“Here” Joe pulled out his wallet where he placed the ultrasound picture the doctor gave them. Nicky also had one in his pocket and has plans on putting it on the fridge. He put the picture on the table so that the group could see. 

“Holy shit” Booker said. 

“It looks like a fucking bean” Andy joked. 

“Hey that’s my kid you’re talking about” Joe injected. 

“Congrats” Lykon said to the couple while Nile got up from her seat to hug the two. 

“Can’t believe you’re gonna be a dad” Andy said as she hugged her best friend. 

“We always knew Yusuf would be the first one with a kid” Booker remarked as he patted Nicky on the shoulder. 

“We should go out for dinner to celebrate” Nile suggested. 

“That would be lovely” Nicky smiled as he held Joe’s hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Scythians were waiting for their manager to come into the meeting room he wanted to meet at. They were surprised to have gotten such a high profiled manager but were forever thankful for him. The door opened and in walked Drew Lee. 

“Hello everyone. I was surprised you called for a meeting” He said as he took a seat. “So what seems to be the problem? Is it about the music video?” 

“Everything is fine with the music video” Nile told the man. 

“Our Joe here has some news” Andy patted the lead singer's shoulder with a grin.

“Yes. I have gotten some incredible news. My boyfriend and I are expecting a child” 

“Congratulations” Drew told him. “I’m guessing you’ll like to figure out what to do about the tour” 

“Yes exactly. I was thinking we can do two months of touring” 

“Festivals are happening very soon here in Europe and I managed to get you on the line up for Glastonbury” 

“No way! Really?” Nile questioned excitedly. 

“It was really hard, but I managed. Would you guys want to have the two months in Europe or America” 

“Most of our fan base is in America. The small portion of fans in Europe will probably go to the festival” Joe reasoned. 

“Very well. I’ll set everything up for you guys” Drew stood up and smiled at the group. “Congrats again, Joe. You’re gonna be a great father” 

Joe stood up so Drew could hug him. He left the room with a wave. 

“That went better than expected” Andy leaned back in the comfortable chair. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey why don’t we ever go to my place?” Yusuf wondered. The couple were leaving the French cafe with a large box of pastries. Nicky immediately struck up a conversation with the owner of the cafe. The lady also spoke Italian which Nicky was so excited about. She gave him one of everything and Nicky offered her the same generosity when she visited Firelight. 

“I don’t know. Why don’t we?” Nicky asked back. 

“Do you want to stay at my place tonight?” Joe asked. 

“I don’t have any clothes or” Nicky let go of Joe’s hand to lift his arm. He smiled to show all his teeth and made a motion like he was brushing his teeth. 

Joe laughed at the cute motion and cause he knew the man forgot the English word for the item. “You can wear my clothes and I have a spare toothbrush” 

“Okay. I guess we can” Nicky agreed. Joe led the way to his apartment as they held hands. 

“When the baby comes do you want to stay at your apartment or mine?” He has been wondering what the game plan was for a few days now. 

“I was actually thinking that maybe we could go back to Italy to have our child” 

“Really?” That was far from what Joe was expecting. 

“If that’s okay. I would like for my family to be there” 

“That’s fine. I haven’t really put into thought about where the baby will be born. No matter what the baby will have dual citizenship” 

Nicky looked at his boyfriend confused. “Dual what?” 

“Dual citizenship. Since I am an American citizen our baby will be a citizen in America and wherever their born at” 

“Hm. Interesting” Nicky never really thought about that. He knows the struggle of having to go through the visa process. “If we were to move to America, what would happen to me?” 

“Well I guess we could go through the spousal visa process” 

“Spousal?” 

“Yeah. I mean eventually you will want to get married right?” 

“Is this your way of proposing?” Nicky raised an eyebrow.

“God no” Joe quickly said. “It will be way more romantic than us talking about citizenship” 

“Good to know” Nicky whispered out. They made it to the apartment complex and Joe lead the way to his apartment. 

“Welcome to my home again” Joe said. He was glad he cleaned his place the last time he stopped in to get clothes. 

Nicky would say the home was very Yusuf. On one wall was a large tapestry and on either side was small tables with candles. Another wall was a bunch of charcoal drawings pinned up. There were books scattered all over the room and some music instruments. It just screamed Yusuf. 

He walked in front of the tapestry to see how detailed the work was. “This is beautiful” 

“My mom got it back from our home country. I usually do prayer in front of it” Joe stood next to his love.

“Really?” 

“I try to pray whenever I feel like things are going bad or I need hope” 

“Those are the right times to pray” 

“You hungry? I can go pick up some food” 

The couple ate some take out and watched some movies. They were cuddling on the couch when suddenly Nicky moved to straddle Joe. They were kissing deep and sensual as Nicky was grinding down against the other man. 

“Make love to me” Nicolo whispered out. 

“Of course habibi” Joe stood up while carrying his lover. Nicky will never get over how strong Yusuf was. 

Joe carefully placed him on the bed and crawled on top of him. He placed gentle loving kisses against the beautiful olive skin. They slowly started undressing each other and left kisses at every inch of exposed skin. Yusuf grabbed the lube from the bedside drawer and poured some on his fingers. He gently pushed his fingers into Nicky’s hole as he kept kissing his lips. He could never get over the feeling of Nicolo’s lips against his. The feeling of his tongue against his. 

“Yusuf” Nicky moaned once he felt Yusuf’s finger’s rub his prostate. Joe was kissing Nicky’s gorgeous collarbones as he kept making Nicky moan and wither underneath him. 

“Please.  _ Fai l'amore con me” _ Nicky begged.  **_(Make love to me)_ **

“Of course, my love” Joe removed his fingers and poured some lube on his cock. Before he can get on top of Nicky again, the man moved to sit in Yusuf’s lap. “Like this?” he asked. Nicolo nodded before cradling Yusuf’s face as they softly kissed. 

Yusuf slowly breached Nicolo as he kissed his moans. They moved in perfect tandem as they kept swallowing each other's moans and groans. 

“I love you so much. The both of you” Yusuf said into Nicky’s ear. He moved one of his hands to rest against Nicky’s stomach.

_ “Anch'io vi amo entrambi”  _ Nicky moved his hand from Joe’s shoulder to be on top of Joe’s.  **_(I love you both too)_ **

They slowed down to a small rhythm as they kept softly kissing. “You are my everything. My sun, my stars, and my moon. My whole fucking universe. My body only knows you and wants you” He moved his mouth to kiss at Nicolo’s collarbones again. “Fuck. I can worship your body for days, years” 

“Oh, Yusuf” He moaned out as he arched his back and came between their bodies. Yusuf thrusted up two more times until he came buried deep in Nicolo. 

Joe moved them carefully to be laying down against the pillows. Joe reached for his discarded shirt to clean up their mess. Nicky moved to cuddle up against his boyfriend as soon as he laid down. “You want to be the little spoon?” he asked. 

“Sure” Joe turned to press his back against Nicky’s chest. Nicky ran his hand up and down the man’s strong arm as he closed his eyes. He loved being able to hold Yusuf’s body against his. No one will ever understand how gentle and soft Joe felt while he looked so muscular. He opened his eyes to look at how different their skin looked. His olive tan skin clashed against Yusuf’s beautiful brown skin and nothing ever looked so perfect. He desperately hopes their child will have Yusuf’s beautiful skin and curls. If he was telling the truth he hopes the child will look just like Yusuf. He thinks the arabic man was the most gorgeous person in the whole world and he doesn’t know how he got so lucky to be with such a man. He wrapped his arms tighter around Joe as he pressed his face into his curls. Joe smiled as he lifted his hand to hold Nicky’s as he drifted off to sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ Knock Knock _

Joe squinted his eyes open to see Nicky still asleep next to him. He wasn’t sure if he was hearing things or if his neighbours were trying to hang up another painting. He was about to close his eyes to go back to sleep when he heard the noise again. 

_ Knock knock _

“Mh” Nicky moaned as his face pinched at hearing a noise. “What is that?” 

“I think it’s the door” Joe pressed a kiss to Nicky’s temple. “I’ll check. Go back to sleep” 

He got out of bed and pulled on a pair of underwear and sweats. He unlocked the door and opened it.    


“Yusuf” He got a tight hug from none other than his mother. 

“Ma” He looked over his mother’s small frame to see his father. “What are you guys doing here? How did you even find my place?” 

“Your friend Andy told me as soon as I asked. She’s so sweet” His mother just pushed her way into the home and his father followed her. “I brought all your favorite food” She placed the big bag on the kitchen counter and started to pull out tubberware of food. 

“You really didn’t have to mother” Joe loudly said. Nicky shot up in bed and looked at the cracked door with wide eyes.

“Fuck” He whispered out. He quietly got out of the bed and started to pull on some of Joe’s clothes. He tiptoed across the hall into the bathroom. 

“Andy said you’ll be performing soon” Joe’s mother said as she placed the last container down. 

“Yeah. Sorry, but why are you here again” 

“Your aunt moved here so we decided to come visit her” His father said as he sat down on one of the bar stools.    


“Why do you seem so mad that we decided to come see you” They heard a noise in the bathroom and Joe grimaced. “Oh, you have a guest” 

“Yeah. Let me go check on them” Joe rushed down the hall and into the bathroom. Nicky jumped upon seeing the man. 

“What do I do?” he whispered out. 

“I don’t know. Did you know they were stopping in?” Nicky whispered. 

“Allah no. Remind me to kill Andy next time we see her” Joe placed his hands on his hips. He felt like he couldn’t breath. 

“Are you going to tell them?” Nicky asked. 

Yusuf looked at Nicolo and then to the closed door. “I think I should” He stepped closer to the man and placed his hands on the slender hips. “I love you so much and they deserve to know their son is happy” 

Nicky smiled and lifted his hands to rest on those strong shoulders. “They also should know they’re gonna be grandparents” Joe moved his hand to rest on Nicky’s stomach. It was really early for there to be any kind of bump but Nicky was sure the man wouldn’t be able to take his hands off of his stomach once he did start showing. 

“I’ll be right by your side” Nicolo reassured him. 

Joe opened the door and walked out with Nicky following behind him. 

“There you are. I served you a plate” Yusuf’s mother said. “Oh hello” She said once she noticed the other man. “You must be one of Yusuf’s friends” 

“Actually Mom” He looked at her with slight worry. “Dad. This is Nicky. My boyfriend” 

Nicky moved to hold his hand to support Joe who looked so scared to say the truth out loud.

“Boyfriend?” She said, confused. 

“Yeah. We’ve been going out for three months” Joe told them as his hands shook. He was just waiting for one of his parents to start yelling. Saying he's a sinner and should be punished. 

“I’m glad to see you took after me. You found such a handsome man” She walked over to stand in front of Nicky. “Look at those eyes” She lifted her hand to rest on Nicky’s chin so he can fully make eye contact. “So beautiful”

“Wait. You’re okay with this? With me being gay?” Joe questioned. He was so confused by his mother’s actions. 

“Of course I’m okay with it. You’re my son. I’m gonna love you no matter what” She moved to stand in front of her boy. “Did you really think I wasn’t gonna support you?” 

“I mean our culture and being muslim. It says that it’s wrong for a man to lay with another man. I could be sentence to death in our home country” 

She held Yusuf’s hands and smiled sweetly at him. “The Quran could never stop me from loving my son. Neither can any law in a country we rarely visit” Joe was confused when he felt his mother’s hands on his face. “Don’t cry my sweet boy” 

“I could have told you sooner. I was just so scared” She pulled him down into a hug as she ran her fingers through Joe’s black curls. 

“Your father and I love you no matter who you are with. Love is love my child” Joe’s father walked over and joined the hug. 

“I should properly introduce you guys” They quit hugging and Joe walked over to wrap an arm around Nicky’s waist. 

“This is Nicolo Di Genova. Nicky, this is my mom and dad, Aafia and Mufiz”    


“It’s so lovely to meet the both of you. Yusuf has told me so much” Nicky shook Mufiz hand while Aafia pulled him into a hug. 

“I love your accent. Where did you grow up at?” Aafia asked. 

“Genoa, Italy” Nicky responded. 

“Oh I heard the churches there are really stunning” Mufiz said. 

“Would you like to eat? I’ll serve you a plate, dear” Aafia walked into the kitchen to prepare a plate. Joe led Nicky to sit down at the table where his own plate was at. He went to the kitchen to get two glasses of water for them to drink.

“So what do you do for a living, Nicolo?” Mufiz asked. 

“I own a cafe in town. We also have a location back in Italy. I do most of the baking” 

“Really? Everyone says my baklava is the best” Aafia placed a plate of food in front of Nicky. 

“Yusuf constantly tells me about your baklava. I can’t wait to try it” Nicky smiled. “I would love for you to try some of my baked goods while you are in town” 

“I would love that. I might even share my recipe with you” Aafia grinned. 

“I would be honored if you did” Nicky and Joe started to eat the meal the woman served them. 

“How did you meet?” She asked. 

“I was in his cafe working on my art when he came in. I thought he was just so beautiful. I asked him on a date the second time I talked to him” Yusuf said. 

“Your son sure is a romantic” Nicky remarked. 

“He gets it from his father. Mufiz used to write me handwritten letters with lines of poetry. Every date we went on had such a stunning view” 

“How long have you been together?” Nicky asked. 

“Twenty years now” Mufiz reached to hold his wife’s hand as he stared at her with heart eyes. Nicky hopes that's how Joe and he will be like in the future. Where they will always look at each other with so much love and adoration. 

“Hopefully we’re together that long” Joe said as he looked at Nicky with the same expression as his father. 

“I’m sure we will considering” Nicky grinned. 

“Considering what?” Aafia was on the edge of her seat wanting to know what the couple were talking about. 

Yusuf reached for Nicolo's hand as he smiled at his parents. "Nicky and I are gonna have a baby" 

"A baby?" Aafia was filled with joy as soon as she heard the word. 

"I'm a carrier and it was unexpected, but we couldn't be more happier" Nicolo said as he stared at his boyfriend who looked so happy to tell his parents. 

"I'm gonna be a grandma. I can finally start bragging to all my friends" 

The couple laughed as they knew she was telling the truth. She had been pestering Yusuf years now for her to get a grandbaby. 

"Congrats son" Mufiz shared a small smile upon hearing the news. 

"How far along are you?" She asked Nicky. 

"Barely a month now" he informed her.

"Oh you're gonna have to be extra careful since you're so early" 

"Yusuf has been doing all the heavy lifting at the cafe" As soon as Dr. Wilson told them about the risk of miscarriage, Joe got even more protective. Nicky was sure he'll wrap him in bubble wrap soon.

"Which you were against at first" Yusuf remarked as he took a sip of water. 

"You know how I like being independent" Nicky pouted which made Joe swoon. 

Joe looked at his parents and asked, "How long are you gonna be in London?" 

"Another week. Your aunt is going through a rough time right now" Mufiz said with a sad smile. 

"Is she okay?" His aunt Maha was his dad's sister. She was his favorite family member since she was always so kind to him and getting him gifts. She went against her parents on marrying a Muslim man and ended up marrying a British man. 

His mother reached across the table to hold his hand with sad eyes. Just that answered Joe's question. 

"She has stage three breast cancer" Mufiz grimly said. 

"What? How long has she known?" 

"She found out a month ago. Doctors are saying it's spreading but you know your aunt. Always hopeful" 

"Of course she is" Joe smiled sadly at the thought of his aunt suffering yet still being her cheerful self. "I'll pray for her. Maybe I'll go visit her" 

"I'm sure she'll love that. She was asking about you when we saw her" Aafia told him.

"She says she brags about how her nephew is a rockstar" Mufiz laughed out. 

"Yeah I wouldn’t say rockstar exactly" Joe laughed along with his father. 

"Let me take your plates" Aafia stood up and started to grab the now empty plates. 

"I'll get it Ma" Joe stood up and took the plates from her. 

"Thank you so much for the food, Aafia. I never really had this type of food before" Nicky complimented. 

"Really? Yusuf don't take you out to eat?" She asked, sounding a bit upset. 

"All the halal here isn't as good as yours, ma" Joe walked back into the area and bent down to kiss his mother's cheek. 

"You sweet talker" she lightly slapped Joe's arm before he moved back to his seat. 

"He's right though. I can't eat at any Italian restaurant since it's not the same as home" 

"His cooking is so delicious though" Joe praised. 

"It was hard at first cooking for Yusuf since he doesn't eat pork" It really was a struggle when Nicky first cooked for the man since so many of his recipes called for pork. He learned his way around the restriction though. 

"Maybe we can have dinner before you head back home" Joe suggested. 

"I would love to cook for you. Maybe even have some of that famous baklava" Nicky smiled charmingly at Aafia and Mufiz 

"We will love to. I'll bring extra baklava for Andy too" 

"She'll be thrilled" The couple could just see Andy grinning and jumping up and down while holding the pastry 

"We better head out. Your father wants to go to the museum" Aafia stood up as well as her husband. 

"Oh the museum near by as a new exhibit. I'm sure you'll love it dad" Joe said. 

"It was lovely meeting you, Nicolo" Aafia pulled the man into a warm hug. 

"It greet meeting you too. Thank you" he whispered out the last part. It seemed like the mother knew exactly what Nicky was thanking her for. 

Joe hugged his father, who patted him on the back. "I'm proud of you son. You're gonna make a great dad" 

"I will thanks to you" Joe admitted out loud. He always looked up to his father since he was young. His father showed a perfect example of being in love with someone and just always being there for his child. He never showed anger except when someone hurt his wife or son emotionally or physically. He was a protector and an incredible father. 

The couple walked them to the door and hugged again before they left. They sat down on the couch with a sigh. 

"Did that really happen?" Joe voiced out before turning to look at Nicky. "Did they really accept me?" 

Nicky nodded with a smile. "Yeah. They did" 

Joe grinned and leaned in to kiss Nicky gentle and lovingly. He felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He can openly talk to his parents about how much he loves Nicolo. How he wants to build a future with the man. How he wants to marry him and live in a cute home together with their children. Everything just felt perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? Do you want more scenes with Joe's parents? I will be writing about Nicky’s sister soon which should be interesting. My birthday is in two days so I'm gonna be busy for the weekend. So might not update until next week. Let know if you have any suggestions for any future chapters. Thank you for all the support for this fic. I really didn't think anyone will enjoy it. Love you all and stay safe out there.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Please enjoy this new chapter filled with so much love and smut. Thank you so much for reading and sorry for any errors.
> 
> Also there is music links in this chapter if you need to understand the mood a bit.

“Habibi, I’m gonna head out. We have another interview so I should be back in a couple of hours” Joe walked out of the bedroom and to the living room where Nicky was sitting. The Scythians dropped the album last weekend so now the band was going through constant press. 

“Alright have fun. Love you” Nicky said as he kept reading his book. He found out that Booker got his nickname since he was obsessed with books and held knowledgeable like a sponge. Joe told him how his home is basically a library filled with endless genres of novels. The French man and him now talked about their favorite authors and Booker lended him endless books. 

Joe walked to the couch where Nicky tilted his head back so Joe could kiss his forehead. “I love you too” 

He left the house making sure he had his keys in his pocket. Nicky finished the page he was reading before closing the book. He got up and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of juice. He drank the sweet liquid and stared at the new ultrasound. He was two months along now and the bean was now more shaped like a baby. Dr. Wilson said there was still a high risk of miscarrying so the couple were still very cautious. 

Nicky sighed and placed his glass on the table. He was dreading having to do this but it was time. He walked to his room to grab his laptop before going to sit at the table. He has been avoiding his family. His sister usually calls every week to get updates on how Firelight is doing, but Nicky has just opted to text her. 

He opened up skype and started calling his sister. He waited until finally her face popped up on screen. 

“Nico! Finally you call me” Marcella looked relieved to see her little brother. “I was so worried when you started ignoring my calls”

“I’m sorry. I’ve just been busy” Nicky told her as he glanced at his phone to see if Joe texted him. 

“Is the cafe that popular now?” she asked. 

“Yeah. I might have to hire another staff member soon” He realized that Quynh and Copely weren't enough help for how much business they get. “How’s everything going back at home?” 

“Fairly well. Mother says I can’t bake like you do so I would say she misses you” She laughed at how Nicky looked surprised. 

“Really? I thought they would be glad to get rid of me” Nicky laughed.    


Marcella leaned closer to the screen to look at her brother closer. “What’s been going on with you? You look super happy” 

“Do I?” he lifted his hand to rub the back of his neck. 

“Yes. You’re all smiley and have this glow to you” Nicky blushed at the word glow since that’s what Nile said last week. 

“Well I may have a boyfriend now” Nicky admitted shyly. 

“What! Is he hot? Is he British?” She asked excitedly. She knows how hard it has been for Nico to date so his past was filled with flings from men at clubs. 

“He’s beyond handsome. His name is Joe and we met at Firelight. He's Tunisian. He was born in the Netherlands and was raised in America. He's so smart and caring. He's just so perfect"

“Wow. You really love him. Don’t you?” Marcella has never seen her brother look so filled with joy. 

“I really do” His phone chimed and he looked to see a notification from Yusuf. 

_ Yusuf: Just got to the location. Dreading the same repeated questions.  _

He looked back at his sister and was mentally preparing himself to share the news. “I’m actually planning on going back to Italy soon”

“Really? Why?” Marcella questioned. “It seems like you’re really happy in London” 

“I am. It’s just” He tilted his head to try to relax. “You’re gonna be an aunt” 

“Did I just hear you right?” She asked with wide eyes.

“Yes. I’m pregnant. See” Nicky stood up and grabbed the ultrasound. He held it up to the camera so Marcella could see the proof. 

“Holy shit, Nico! You’re gonna have a kid!” She shouted in excitement and shock. 

“We are planning on going to Italy once he’s finished up with work”

“How long will that be?” 

“The tour starts next weekend so in two and a half months” 

“Tour?’ 

“Oh yes. Joe is in a band fairly popular in America”

“What’s his full name? I wanna look him up” She grabbed her phone so she can type his name into the search bar. 

“Joe Al Kaysani” Nicky told her. 

Marcella let out a whistle once she saw the pictures of her brother’s boyfriend. “You weren’t lying. He is stunning. Where can I find one? Does he have a brother?” 

“He’s an only child. Sorry” 

Marcella pouted as she kept looking at pictures of Joe. “Are you sure about coming back home? I mean what will you tell mom and dad?” 

“Tell them I'm pregnant” Nicky matter of fact said. 

“Well yeah, but do you really think that will go over well? I mean they don’t even acknowledge you’re gay” Marcella watched the screen closely to catch what emotion her brother was giving off. 

“If all things go to hell when I tell them then Joe and I will come up with a different plan. I just thought it would be nice to have the baby in Italy” 

“I might be wrong and they will be supportive. Mom is always going on about wanting grandkids” 

“From you. Not me” Nicky said, matter of factly. 

Marcella decided on ignoring the remark. “When you leave London I can always take your position at the England location” 

“That would be really great. I wasn’t sure if you would be interested in doing such a thing” 

“Of course. Maybe I’ll find love in London like you did” She winked. 

“I’m sure you will” Nicky grinned as he looked at the ultrasound he placed on the table.    


“I can’t believe you’re pregnant” Marcella said. “Are you showing yet?” 

“Not yet. Joe is convinced I am, but I’m not. I’m only two months along so it might be some time before I start showing” 

“I can’t wait. It will be weird seeing you all pregnant” she teased. 

“Shut up” Nicky pouted. 

“You know I love you and I can’t wait to see your cute little baby” Marcella really couldn’t wait to be an aunt. She always knew that Nicolo would be the first to have a child since she never had the urge to reproduce. Maybe it was their mother’s constant pestering that made her dislike the idea so much. 

“I gotta go. My shift at the cafe is starting soon. Call me again soon. Okay?”

“I will. See you soon darling” They blew a kiss to each other before ending the call. 

Nicky closed the laptop with a sigh. He wasn’t surprised by his sister being supportive. He now felt more worried about how his parents would react. Marcella was right that they never really supported him. They never asked about his personal affairs. It was like he was just an employee of theirs and not their son. 

He grabbed his phone and decided to text Joe back. 

_ Nicolo: Just let Andy answer all the questions.  _

Nicky looked back at his laptop before texting again. 

_ Nicolo: Sorry. I called my sister. I love you so much.  _

He decided on taking a bath to stop worrying about his parents. He just needs to focus on the now. Of spending as much time with Yusuf before he heads out for the tour. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I have to say I absolutely love the new sound you have on the new album. What made you guys decide on the change?” The interviewer asked.

“We started playing around with more synths especially Lykon here” Andy patted the other guitarists shoulder. Andy and Nile were talking about the tonal change in the new album when Joe felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He knew it was rude to check his phone while working, but he was worried when Nicky didn’t text back. 

He pulled out his phone from his pocket and hid it by his side to read the text. 

“Are you bored?” Joe looked up to see everyone looking at him while Booker jokingly made the remark. 

“Sorry. Just have to quickly reply to this” He said as he typed out a response real quick. 

_ Yusuf: It’s okay. Did everything go okay with her? I love you too, habibi. _

“Everything okay?” Nile asked with worried eyes. They all knew about the risk Nicky’s pregnancy is right now. They had started to help at the cafe whenever they could to relieve the stress for the couple. 

“A okay” Joe said as he pocketed his phone again. “Just normal stuff” 

The group nodded as their worry vanished at the tone their friend spoke. “Sorry about that. Won’t happen again” He apologized. He knew it seemed very unprofessional to be on his phone during an interview. 

“It’s completely fine. We all have lives out of here” She kindly told him. “I couldn’t help but notice a lot of tracks are about being in love and growing up”

“Our Joe found love” Booker teased. 

“So did Andy” Nile added. 

“Hey. Come on now” Andy raised her hands to stop the two from teasing her too. “We haven’t even said I love you yet so tease Joe” 

Joe laughed as he shook his head and rubbed his arm. “We both found love and it definitely inspired this album for sure” 

He tried to change the subject since he didn’t want the public to know just yet about Nicky and him. Of course that didn’t happen since the next question was even more personal somehow. 

“When your listeners purchase the physical copy of the album or on apple music half of the proceeds are going to The Human Rights Campaign” They all nodded their heads while Joe played with his shoelace since he had his foot resting on his knee. “What made you come to the decision to help the charity in such a huge way?” 

They all looked at each other to see who wanted to answer. Andy saw how Joe didn’t look at anyone so she decided to answer the question. 

“Well most of us are a part of the community so we know the struggle of getting acceptance and fighting for our rights. We figured this would be a good first step to help out other members of the LGBTQ +. Half of our ticket sales will also go to the charity” 

The rest of the interview went smoothly, but they all couldn’t help but worry from Joe’s quietness. They moved to where they set up the performance area. 

“You okay?” Nile softly touched the man’s arm. He was standing in front of the mic while she had her bass around her. 

“Yeah. Just wanna get home” Joe said. 

“Just got to do these two songs and we’re free” Nile smiled and moved back to her place. They performed an acoustic version of [Crystallized](https://youtu.be/wNwX03l4Cec) and [Firelight](https://youtu.be/VA7XVRE9F0s). Everyone can all agree that Joe’s vocals were amazing today. 

They shook the interviewer's hand and headed out of the building. “Everything okay with Nicky?” Booker asked. The two separated from the group since their homes were in the opposite direction as the other members. 

“I think so. He talked to his sister while I was gone” 

“Is that good or bad?” He asked. 

“I have no clue. They seem close, but I have no idea how she took the news” 

“Well what did he text you?” Booker was trying to understand the situation. 

“Talked to my sister. I love you so much” Joe repeated the text.    


“Hm. Very vague” 

“That’s Nicky for you though” 

“I’m sure everything will be okay. You two are strong” He complimented. He’s never met a couple so connected in the way Joe and Nicky were. They could just glance at the other and know what they needed. They were having a baby for god’s sake. 

“How’s the baby though?’ He asked. 

“Going good. Just stressed when I have to leave” Joe rubbed at his forehead.

“Yeah. That’s not gonna be easy” 

“Nicky keeps telling me I’m not gonna miss much since the next two months are not that big a deal. By the time we’re together again, he’ll have a bump and the baby might be kicking. I still wanna be there for the appointments though”

“He has a point though. As long as you’re there during the harder trimesters you’re fine” Booker reassured. 

Joe nodded his head agreeing. They were at the block where they would split up. “I’ll see you next weekend” 

“See you then. Don’t stress my friend” Booker patted Joe’s shoulder before walking away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe unlocked the door and softly closed it behind himself. He shrugged off his coat and hung it up on the coat rack. 

“Nicolo. I’m home” He called out into the room. He heard a soft “in here” near the bathroom. He walked down the hall and looked into the bathroom to see Nicky in the tub with bubbles around him. The window was opened so the sunlight was coming through and shined down on his goddess of a husband. His hair was up in a ponytail and he seemed really relaxed. 

“How are you doing?” Joe softly asked as he sat down on the toilet lid. He noticed there was music playing. The band and him have been recommending Nicky music to educate him more on different styles. It sounded like a band that Booker suggested since it had more of an 80’s laid back [sound](https://youtu.be/FthzCkR-2k0). 

“Okay. Just felt like relaxing a bit” Nicky told him.

“How did it go with Marcella?” 

“Really good. She’s excited to be an aunt and to meet you. She said you were hot and asked if you had a brother” Nicky informed him. 

Joe laughed and shook his head. “The world wouldn’t be able to handle the Genova siblings being with the Kayasni brothers if I did have a brother”

Nicky smiled before looking at the water and bubbles. “We talked about my parents” Joe watched as the man started to grab some of the bubbles to do something with his hands. He waited till Nicky talked again. 

“I was pushing the idea of telling my parents to the back of my head. We talked about them a bit. About how they don’t acknowledge my sexuality or being a carrier. How they might not accept our baby” 

“You think they won’t?” Joe asked. Nicolo rarely talked about his parents. It was mostly about memories with his sister. 

“I would love to think they would but they won’t” 

“Then should we even go over there to have the baby. I don’t want to go over there while you’re further along and something bad happens cause of how your parents take the news. Yours and the baby’s health comes first, Nicolo” 

“I know that, but they have a right to know they will be grandparents” Nicky lifted his hand to rub his forehead. “I just-” He let out a shaky sigh as he covered his face with both of his hands. Joe quickly moved to be on his knees next to the tub. 

“It’s okay, habibi” he reached out to rub at Nicky’s arm to try to calm him. “Please don’t stress about this. It’s not good for the baby” 

“I know, Yusuf” Nicky moved his hands so Joe could see he was crying. He quickly wiped away the tears delicately. “I just wish they were as accepting as your parents were” 

“I’m sorry they aren’t” Yusuf tried to think of the right words to say. “Think of it this way. My parents are just much as yours now. With the baby and us getting married one day, they are your family now” 

Nicolo nodded and moved so he could pull Yusuf in for a hug. He wrapped his arms around him and pressed his face in the crook of his neck. Yusuf hugged the man just as tight. He figured he must have said the right thing and he was glad he did. 

“I love you” Nicolo whispered out. 

“I love you too” Joe softly said back. Nicky pulled out of the hug and laughed. 

“You're all wet now” He smiled as he laid back into the lukewarm water. 

Joe looked down at his shirt to see there were wet patches of where Nicky’s naked wet body was pressed against his. “That’s okay. How long have you been in the bath?” He asked. 

“Not long. See” He held up his hand to show it wasn’t all wrinkled up. 

“Good. Stay there” Before he could question Joe, the man left the bathroom and into the bedroom. Nicky shook his head and let out a more calmed sigh as he sunk into the water a bit more so his shoulders were under. 

He heard Joe come back and looked over to see his boyfriend had his sketchbook and a pencil. “Really?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile. 

“You look beautiful so that warrants a sketch” He said as he sat back down on the toilet seat. 

Nicky sat back up a bit and smirked. “Don’t you have enough drawings of me naked?” 

He felt a small victory at getting the usual suave man to blush. “I mean yeah, but not while you’re in the tub and the sun is around you like a halo. You look like a god. You look unreal” 

Damn. Now Nicky was blushing. “Hurry up and draw” He looked at the water while he pouted. 

They were there for an hour and Joe drew his lover as the angel he was. The soft music in the background and the occasional hum Nicky would let out was all so calming. To Joe, this was the most intimate thing they’ve done. Nicolo had willingly been Yusuf’s models on several occasions. At the park while they had a picnic date. Before he falls asleep he would tell the artist it was okay to draw him. He’s even drew Nicolo after they had sex with a white sheet around his waist as he laid on his side and smoke a cigarette. There was something about this moment though that felt more raw. 

He finished up the sketch and set the book and pencil against the sink. He grabbed a towel and held it open as Nicky stood up. He wrapped the fluffy towel around his body and rubbed the fabric to give him some warmth. Joe kissed his temple before they walked across the hall to the bedroom. Nicky grabbed some pajama bottoms to put on while Joe went back to the bathroom to grab his sketchbook. Nicky was laying in bed while the other man stripped his clothes to only be in his boxer briefs. 

“Do I have the honor to see the drawing?” Nicky asked. 

“Of course, my love” Joe opened the book to the right page and laid next to him so they could both look at the art. Nicky would never get over how talented Yusuf was with just a pencil and paper. It was hard for him to even process that this was how Yusuf saw him. 

He smiled and said, “Why do I have a feeling that pretty soon you will open an exhibit of drawing of just me?” 

“Nonsense. This art is only for my eyes” He moved the sketch book so he can get on top of the other man. “Just like only I can see you like this” 

Nicky let out a giggle as Joe started to pepper his neck and shoulder with kisses. “Oh really?” 

“Yeah. Only I can see you unclothed and lost in pleasure”    


“Only you, Yusuf” he softly let out as they met for a kiss. As they were kissing, Joe felt Nicky start going lax. He pulled out of the kiss and noticed how sleepy the man looked. “Why you stop?” Nicky pouted. 

“You're tired, habibi. We should get some rest” Joe kissed his cheek right by the cute mole. 

“You sure?” Nicky asked as he was already pulling the blanket up to cover himself. 

“It’s fine. Rest my love. I’m gonna go turn off the lights in the living room” 

“Okay” Nicky murmured out. 

By the time Joe returned to the room, Nicky was passed out with his arm reached to Joe’s side of the bed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nicky was sitting on the couch with his back resting on the arm rest and his legs on the cushions. He had a book in his hands as he read the latest book Sebastien gave him along with a list of new bands to check out. 

He was confused when suddenly Joe was on the couch with his head between his legs. Nicky opened up his legs wider so he could look down at his boyfriend properly. 

“What in god's name are you doing?” He asked as he placed the book down on his chest. 

“I thought I can help you relax more as you read” 

“You don’t have to Yusuf” he said as he lifted his book back up. 

He tried to find the sentence he left off on while Joe rubbed his thighs, getting close to his crouch. “I want to. I have to have a taste of you before I leave tomorrow” 

Nicky peeked around his book to see Joe was looking at him, waiting for acceptance. He looked back at the words on the page as he hummed. “Very well” 

Joe worked on opening Nicky’s jeans and tapped his hip so he can pull the jeans and underwear off. He smiled at seeing that Nicky was half hard already. He knew his Nicolo was playing hard to get. 

He left kisses on his strong thighs and made his way to his hip. Nicky finally let the breath he was holding go as he felt Joe’s lips wrap around the head of his cock. Joe smirked when he heard the sound knowing he had an effect on the man. Nicky was trying to pretend there wasn’t as he kept reading the same sentence over and over again. He bit his lip when he felt Joe swallow around his full length to hold back his moan. 

Joe pulled off with a pop and lifted Nicky’s legs so his feet were planted on the couch. Nicky was confused when Joe lifted his hips to place a pillow under him. He looked around his book and asked, “What are you doing?” 

“Go back to your book, babe” Nicky kept his book down as he kept watching his lover. 

Joe kissed Nicky’s knee and kept kissing every each and every mole he saw. He finally moved to kiss the pucker hole. NIcky gasped which made Joe look up between his legs. 

“You really don’t have to do that Yusuf” Nicky told him again. He’s never had someone eat him out before. He always thought it was so weird when he saw the act in porn. Now he can feel his face getting hot at the thought of his boyfriend wanting to do such a thing. 

“I want to fully taste you, Nicolo. So I can remember the taste of you on my tongue when I leave” Joe's voice was rough with desire as he kept looking at the man. Waiting to see if he should continue or go back to giving him a blowjob. Nicky gave a slight nod before lifting his book to hide his blush. 

Yusuf was endeared by the action since he wasn’t sure if Nicolo knew his blush went down to his neck. He placed another kiss against his hole before licking over it to relax him a bit more. He moved his hands to spread his cheeks so he could fully press his face against him. He started to lick into the tight hole and he smirked as Nicky let out a gasp and jumped from the intrusion. 

As soon as he got a taste he was done for. He pressed his face impossible closer as he started to eat out the man with so much vigor that Nicky’s right hand moved to grab a handful of Yusuf’s curly hair. 

“Fucking hell Yusuf” Nicky let the book fall onto the floor so both of his hands can hold the back of the man’s head.  _ “Mi sento così bene”  _ **_(I feel so good)._ **

Yusuf pulled away and grabbed at Nicolo’s thighs. “Hold your legs up for me, babe”    


Nicky reluctantly let go of Joe’s hair and moved to hold his legs up. Now Joe had more space to work with. He went back to his meal as Nicolo moaned and whined as he felt Yusuf’s tongue in him and felt a burning sensation. Yusuf groaned and moved his hand around Nicolo to wrap around his cock. He moved his hand at the same tempo as he flicked his tongue. 

“Ah. Too much. _Troppo. Sto arrivando.”_ Nicky let one of his legs go to grab Yusuf's hair again. Even if Nicky didn’t tell him, Joe could tell the man was about to come from how his legs were shaking from too much pleasure. **_(Too much. I’m coming)._**

Yusuf moved his mouth off to see how spit slick and open the hole was. “Let it go babe” he told him before gripping Nicolo’s thigh as he left bite marks there. 

Nicky arched his back as he came onto his grey shirt. “You did so good babe. You’re so beautiful. I love you so much” Joe soothed and praised. 

Nicolo moved his arm to cover his eyes as he tried to catch his breath. He doesn’t know if he’s ever come this hard before. That’s a lie. He remembers in a daze just how hard he came when they conceived their child. 

He moved his arm to look down to see Joe was nuzzling his thigh with love. Nicky sat up and rested his hand on Joe’s cheek to kiss him. Joe hummed into the kiss surprised, but gladly kissed back. Nicky rested his hand on Joe’s thigh before pulling out of the kiss to nuzzle against the other man’s cheek. “Let me take care of you” He mumbled out. 

“I uh. Already came” Nicky looked at him shocked. He looked down at Joe’s sweats to see a wet stain. 

“Oh” Nicky said. 

“Sorry. You were just so hot, babe” Joe leaned in to press a kiss against Nicky’s lips. 

“I’m not judging” Nicky reassured. 

“I’m guessing you liked it?” Joe guessed. 

Nicky looked down at his hand that was holding the other man’s as he blushed. “Yes. No one has ever done that to me before” 

Joe smiled and kissed Nicky’s temple. “I’m glad I was your first then” 

Nicky could hear the teasing tone in his boyfriend’s voice and pushed his shoulder. “Shut up. I think I got beard burn from you” 

Joe moved his hands down to rub at Nicky’s ass. “I’ll put lotion on it tonight. If you want I can shave my beard” 

Nicky moved his hand to rub Joe’s cheek. “I can’t imagine you without a beard”

“I was clean shaven before I came to London. I’m sure you can find pictures online” Joe told him. 

“Mh. You know how I feel about the whole online thing” Joe did know about his boyfriend's dislike for anything online. He didn’t have any form of social media (which Andy and Nile hated when they wanted to cyberstalk Nicky when they started going out). He tried to show Nicky how Instagram worked, but the man ended up extremely confused. Nicky told him it took two months for him to understand Skype. 

“Maybe when you come back from tour you can shave” Nicky said as he kept rubbing his hand against his beard. 

“It grows back fast so you wouldn’t have to be stuck with babyface me for long” Joe laughed at seeing Nicky look confused. 

“Baby what?” he asked. 

“Babyfaced. It’s said when a bearded person shaves they look like a baby. As in they look younger” 

“Oh. Never heard of that before” Joe always found it so adorable when Nicky didn’t understand a phrase or slang.    


“So cute” Joe mumbled out as he kissed every inch of his loved one's face.

“Shut up and take me to bed” Nicky pushed the man away with a smile. Joe stood up and carried Nicky to bed like he asked. They spent the whole night loving each other and consistently touching each other. At some point Joe laid his head on Nicky’s stomach as he softly talked to their child. He left kisses all over the nonexistent bump before kissing Nicolo’s lips. It was their last night and they were gonna make the most of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you guys think? Also may question for you guys: Who should Booker end up with? Copley? Nile? A new character? 
> 
> Let me know how you think the rest of the story is gonna go. Thank you so much for reading and supporting this fic. There's so much better well written works on here yet you read my work. I love you all and thank you again. See you soon and stay safe out there.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a short chapter. I've been going through a lot of family stuff. Thank you so much for reading and excuse any errors. There are music links in this chapter.

“You ready, babe?” Joe asked standing by the door. Andy texted him saying they were out front in the van. It was about a two hour drive to the festival so they decided to go in the same car. 

“Sorry. Couldn’t find my sweater” Nicky walked towards the door while putting on his dark grey cardigan. He was wearing black jeans and Joe’s t-shirt that was the band's merch. He has to represent his boyfriend and his work. 

They held hands as they left the home. Joe had his suitcase in hand since right after the festival they will be catching a flight out to America.    


“Hey!” The group all shouted when Joe opened the van door for Nicky to get in. 

“Hey!” Nicky said back just as excited he sat down next to Nile as Joe put his case into the back with all the other luggage. There was another van behind them that carried all their music equipment. 

“How have you been?” Quynh asked from the backseat with Andy and Booker. 

“Yeah. How’s the baby?” Nile followed. 

“I’ve been okay. Still have slight nausea. The doctor says the baby is growing at the right speed” Nicky told them. Joe sat down next to his boyfriend and closed the door behind him. Lykon, who was sitting in the passenger seat, nodded at the driver that they were good to go. 

“Any bump yet?” Nile asked as she noticed that the man was wearing Joe’s shirt. It looked tight around his broad shoulder yet loose on his waist. 

“A little. It just looks like I put on a few pounds” Nicky said with a laugh.

The whole car ride was just them catching up and joking around. An hour in, Nicky got tired so he rested his head against Joe’s shoulder as he fell asleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
They arrived in the area and got out of the van. They pulled on yellow rain boots since it was muddy and it was a tradition for everyone. “Q and I are going to go watch King Princess's set. We’ll meet you guys at our set” Andy said. She rushed off holding her girlfriend’s hand as they smiled happily. 

“Booker and I are gonna go check out Kamasi Washington set” Nile smiled and lifted her hand to make a gesture of smoking. 

“Have fun, you two” Joe remarked. He knew how the two were when they listened to jazz and smoked out. “Are you gonna go check out anyones set?” He looked over at Lykon. 

“I’m gonna make sure our stuff gets to the right stage. Might grab a bite” 

“Alright. Guess we’re all gonna meet up at five pm” Joe said. He reached for Nicky’s hand as they fully walked into the festival. 

“You thirsty?” Joe asked. 

“I can go for a drink” Nicky nodded. They walked over to a line and waited a few minutes before they reached the front. “I’ll get the strawberry slush” Nicky said to the worker. 

“No alcohol in that one” He told the woman. “I’ll have the same. Alcohol included” 

Joe pulled out his wallet and handed her the cash while Nicky grabbed the drinks. "I'll never understand how you won't yet pork due to religion yet you drink" 

"Blame it on college. Plus I rarely do drink. Only on special occasions" Joe told him as he took a sip of the cool drink. They started walking in a random direction till they reached one of the sets.

“Oh I know this song. It was on Nile’s list” Nicky smiled as he started to bop his head to the beat. They walked closer to the crowd and Joe wrapped his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. Joe couldn’t help but laugh when Nicky started singing, “Gotta blame it on my [juice](https://youtu.be/R9CTs1NsZRI).” He really doesn’t want to know what other artists were on Nile’s list. The song finished and the couple cheered for the woman. The set was really great and more people showed up. Joe moved Nicky to be in front of him so he can wrap his arms around his waist to protect him from the pushing people. He found it so adorable how Nicky started dancing and shouting the lyrics out like every other person in the audience. 

The set was finishing up so the two decided to head out to see who else was performing. Joe was stopped by Nicky who stopped by the main stage. He seemed to be transfixed on the man on the large screen playing the piano. 

“Come on” Joe urged the man to move closer to the crowd near them. He moved so Joe would hold him from behind as they listened to the beautiful song. Nicky started to softly sing the lyrics. Tom Odell was on Andy’s list and he couldn’t stop listening to the man. [Another Love](https://youtu.be/-sLhTS8YJyU) just always stuck with him since it oddly reminded him of Joe. The song context was far from what reminded him of his amazing boyfriend. It was the way the artist spoke poetry and the tone of his voice. 

Joe leaned in to kiss the side of Nicky’s neck as the tempo started to pick up. They both swayed to the beat with grins on their face. The song reached its end and sadly was the last song of the set. 

“Do you want to find the rest of the band?” Joe asked. 

“Sure. I'd like to see some King Princess” Nicky suggested. They held hands as they walked amongst all the people. “Lots of people are really high” Nicky pointed out. 

“Yeah. Most festivals are like this” Joe moved Nicky to be far away from the group of people smoking a joint. He didn’t want his Nicolo to be breathing in any kind of smoke. “Have you done anything like that?” 

“Uh, yeah” Nicky shyly admitted. “I used to smoke weed a lot when I went clubbing. You know I smoke cigarettes on occasion. I tried acid once with Marcella”

“I was expecting weed, but acid. I never knew you were that wild” Joe teased.

“It was only once and I never did any other kind of drugs. What about you?” He asked back.

“I would take a hit when Booker or Nile would smoke. Acid a couple times with Andy when we were in college. Once coke just to see how it was. I would rather drink though” Joe told him. Nicky nodded and started to hear the great guitar playing that could only be King Princess. They spotted Andy with Quynh on her shoulders so she could have a perfect view. They made their way to the couple who cheered happily when they saw Joe and Nicky. The four of them both vibed while watching the amazing set and cheered loudly when it was over. 

“We should head to our stage. It’s almost time for us to be on” Joe looked at his watch to see the time. As they were walking in the right direction, Booker ran towards them with Nile on his back. 

“Kamasi killed it!” Nile shouted, still hyped and buzzed. The two were going on about the jazz musician as Andy and Quynh told them about the two sets they saw. They made it to the stage and got escorted to the back. Lykon made sure their equipment was set up right by the roadies. Nicky and Quynh were escorted to the side of the stage where VIP passed people were. The band all got help putting on their earpieces and started to hop around to get their energy ready. The group, excluding Joe walked onto stage and the crowd started cheering loudly. Lykon started up the backing synth for [Anagram](https://youtu.be/MThKA0ID5qQ) as Andy and Nile lifted their instruments and Booker moved to sit behind his drum set. Joe ran onto the stage and yelled “Oh” right when Booker hit the cymbal and Andy played the first chord. They started playing Anagram which was the first song on the new album. 

Nicky had to admit that he was in a trance at seeing Joe performing on stage. He was so in his element singing and playing the tambourine on his side. He brought all the energy needed to perform in front of a crowd and more. It also wasn’t far that Joe was wearing a white tank top with such tight jeans. 

The song ended softly and they slowly transitioned to their louder rock song, It’s About Time. The light’s were flashing and the band was hopping on stage to get the audience to jump too. 

The track ended and the crowd cheered loudly. Joe moved to get a sip of water before walking back to the mic stand. 

“How you doing Glastonbury?” The crowd yelled back as Joe smiled. “We’re The Scythians and we are so honored to be here” The singer looked at the huge crowd in amazement. “I have to say I’m surprised so many of you are here. We have a fairly small following compared to other sets, so thank you for sticking around” 

He turned to look over at Andy and then to Nile and Lykon. “We’re gonna play an old song now” 

They finished the song and the guitarist moved to take a drink from their cups with their choice of drink. Joe took the time to talk again. 

“How about a quick introduction” Joe suggested. “I’m Joe. Twenty five and I sing” Some people yelled out to Joe and Nicky laughed when he heard one fan yell, “We love you Joe”

Joe laughed too as he pulled the mic off the stand to walk towards Andy. “This tall goddess of a woman slaying it on guitar is Andy” She raised her hand as a hello as she was handed a shot from a roadie. The crowd clapped and cheered upon seeing her throw back the shot. 

“Now over here” He moved to the other side of the stage. “Is our youngest member, Nile, who’s killing it on bass” 

Nile did a little bow and raised her hand in greeting. “We got this strong man, Lykon. The talented synth playing, guitar playing man” Lykon shyly waved as the crowd cheered for him. 

“Last, but not least, our French unpredictable drummer, Booker” He raised his cup full of beer before chugging the drink. “Now that is over, let’s get back to the music” 

The band went on with their set and progressively got more sweaty and never lost their energy. They finished their hit song that they made a bit longer to let the audience dance more. Joe looked over to the side to see Nicky was already looking back at him. Nicky smiled, that sweet smile, and lifted his hand to blow a kiss to the singer. Joe blew a kiss back with a huge grin.

He turned back to the mic and shouted, “You guys having a good evening? How about a good weekend?” The crowd cheered loudly as a response. “We’re half way through so you gotta soak it up” Joe ran his hands through his sweaty hair. “This next song is off our new record. It means a lot to me so I wanna see you dance” 

Crystallized started and Joe sang harmony along with Booker before singing the lyrics. He pulled the mic off the stand to move around the stage more. Nicky was swaying to the song and stopped once he heard Joe sing boy instead of girl. He thought he heard wrong but Yusuf kept using male pronouns. It seemed like he was singing with all his heart. More power than all the others. At the end, Yusuf looked over at Nicolo again with so much love. Nicky desperately wanted to run out there and kiss him, but knew better to. He would have to wait till the end of the show. 

They performed another song and paused so the roadie could hand Joe his guitar. It was now dark and all the stage lights reflected against the band. They started playing Mind Over Matter and once again Joe used male pronouns. 

They finished up the song and Joe pulled his guitar off to hand to the roadie. Joe grabbed his mic and said, “This is our last song so I wanna see you all get up” The band was playing the track as Joe kept talking. “People in the back, the front, the side, I wanna see you all on your feet. This song is called My Body. I know we’re all tired, but this is our last song” 

Joe hopped off the stage to be by the barrier. He had spotted the flags some fans were holding and reached for them. He hopped back on stage and held the flags in one hand as he sang into the mic. He walked over to Andy and wrapped the lesbian flag around her shoulders. Andy grinned as she kept playing. Joe sang the chorus, jumping and holding the two flags up. 

When it was the second verse he moved to the drum set. He stood up on the lifted platform and wrapped the bisexual flag around Booker. He jumped off the platform and jumped around the stage. He lifted the rainbow flag high as he sang, “It’s my road. It’s my road” 

As the song slowed, Joe signaled to the crowd to wave their hand to the beat. As the beat went back to the fast tempo, Joe looked to the VIP section and waved for them to come on stage. Quynh ran to dance next to her girlfriend while other people just danced around the stage. Nicky went to Joe, who kept singing. Joe pulled Nicky close and wrapped the flag around both of them. The band sarted playing the ending of the song as the crowd went crazy. 

Yusuf wrapped his arms around Nicolo and kissed him deeply. Nicolo was surprised but melted into the kiss as he felt Yusuf’s hand cradle his cheek with such softness. They broke the kiss and Joe turned to look at the crowd. 

“Thank you Glastonbury! We’re The Scythians! Have a safe night!” They all walked off the stage as the audience kept cheering for them. 

“That was fucking amazing!” Andy shouted with so much pride. They all felt that buzz after performing. They all were talking about the set and how crazy the crowd was. 

“What did you think?” Joe asked his boyfriend. 

“It was phenomenal. I never seen such a show before” Nicky complimented. Joe wrapped his arm around Nicky’s shoulders and leaned in to kiss his cheek. He turned so they could kiss on the lips. Joe still had the flag around himself as they left the area. 

“So, Joe” Booker called out. “Was this your way of coming out to the fans?” 

He looked at his beautiful boyfriend, who had his hand resting against his stomach in a protective way. “I guess so” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nicky joined the group to the airport to bid them goodbye. Quynh was hugging Andy tightly like she didn’t want to let go. Andy pressed kisses against her girlfriend’s face as she reassured that they will still be in contact. 

Joe pulled his loved one into an equally tight hug and kissed his temple like he always does. “I’m gonna miss you” Nicky whispered out. 

“Me too. I don’t know how I’m gonna sleep without you next to me” Nicky laughed and pulled a bit out of the hug so they can make eye contact. 

“I don’t know either” Nicky pouted and said, “Can’t you just stay. We’ll miss you too much” 

Joe smiled at hearing we. He moved his hand to be on Nicolo’s stomach. 

“They better not start kicking while I’m gone” He warned their child. 

“I will be sure to make sure our child won’t grow at all while you’re gone” Nicky joked.

Joe giggled and leaned in to nuzzle his nose against Nicky’s neck.  _ “Ti voglio tanto bene, mio Nicolò”  _ **_(I love you so much, my Nicolo)_ **

_“Ti amo anch'io, mio Yusuf”_ Nicolo softly said back as he felt Yusuf place a kiss on his neck. **_(I love you too, my Yusuf)_**

Joe moved so they could kiss deeply. It felt like the last time they would ever kiss which was far from the truth. They rested their foreheads together and kept their eyes closed. 

“Just two months” Joe whispered out. 

“Two months then you come home to us” Nicky whispered back with a smile. Joe leaned in for one more kiss till they had to part. 

“I’ll text you everyday and try to call as much as I can” Joe promised.    


“Okay” Nicky nodded as he wrapped his cardigan all the way around his body to feel like a hug. “Go. They’ll leave without you” 

The rest of the band already went to the terminal and Joe was the last one to join. He turned one more time to look at his love. He has so many pictures and drawings to help him remember every detail of Nicolo’s face, but it wouldn’t be the same as seeing him in person. He blew a kiss to Nicky and he blew one back. It hurt like hell to turn and walk into the terminal to get on the plane. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ Pictures: Joe holding up the pride flag while the mic was to his mouth.  _

_ Joe and Nicky kissing while the flag is wrapped around them.  _

_ Joe’s arm around Nicky’s shoulders as he kissed his temple. Nicky smiled wide while they both held their drinks.  _

_ Caption: Yes. I’m gay. Yes. I have a boyfriend. No. I won’t give him to you.  _

_ Comments: @ _ scythianslover: Congrats so happy for you

@joefav222: You two are so cute!!!! I’m so jealous!!!   
@pride4ever: Why doesn’t his boyfriend have an account. I just want more cute pics!

@andyisagod: Holy shit! Joe only deserves the best. That’s why he has such a hot boyfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna write about the tour, but decided to wait for the next chapter. There will be some sexy times of course and more baby time. It's just a matter of when I will write since I haven't been in the mental mind state to write. Thank you so much for reading and sending love. Also still taking suggestions on who Booker should be with. I'll see you soon and stay safe out there.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. I know lots of you have patiently been waiting for this chapter. I hope you like and excuse any errors. More of an update will be in the end notes.

Nicky placed the grocery bags on the table and started to put away all the items he purchased. It has been about two weeks since Joe left for the tour. The couple would text every day, yet only talked on the phone three times. Joe had told him that the band was stuck on their tour bus for the beginning part of the tour and didn’t have much privacy to Skype or call. The Italian man truly misses his boyfriend dearly. It took hours for him to fall asleep every night due to not having Yusuf’s warmth next to him. It was eerily quiet in the apartment which Nicky never realized before he met Joe. There was always a small conversation happening between the both of them or Joe playing the guitar of a random tune. 

_ Beep beep _

Nicky rushed to the living room to where he had his laptop opened on the table. He ran to sit down once he saw it was a Skype call. 

“Habibi!” Joe shouted happily with a huge grin once he saw his loved ones face on the screen. 

“Hello darling” Nicky grinned and moved closer to the screen. He took in his boyfriend’s appearance to see just how tired he was. “Have you gotten some rest?” 

“Lately not much. I forgot how bad being on the tour bus is” Joe ran his hand through his curls. “We barely got a hotel room thankfully” 

“Beside the no sleep on the bus, how’s the tour going?” Nicky asked. 

“Incredible. All our shows are sold out which is a first. I guess from the festival more people have started listening to us. We now have twice the followers on social media”

“That’s wonderful. It must be so amazing to travel around the states” Nicky always wanted to go to America. He always thought about how wild and busy the location must be. 

“How’s everything at Firelight?”    


“Like I texted you earlier, it has been going swimmingly. Managed to hire another employee and is still getting a lot of business” Nicky informed him. 

“And the baby?” Yusuf has always asked Nicolo about their child in every text they shared. 

“I just got home from the doctors and got this” He pulled the sonogram picture out of his pocket and lifted it to the camera. “Can you see it?” Nicky asked.

“Yeah. Allah” Joe felt breathless at seeing the picture of his child. “They are getting so big. I thought you said you weren’t gonna let them grow while their dad was away” Nicky laughed and turned the picture so he could look at it. Joe melted upon seeing his lover hold so much love in his eyes upon looking at their child. 

“I could never stop such a thing” Nicky remarked as he carefully placed the sonogram on the table. “I almost forgot. Look” 

Joe watched as the man stood up and turned to the side. He gasped once Nicky lifted his loose shirt to show the now very visible bump. He put a hand over his mouth as his eyes sparkled. Nicky never loved a sight more than now. 

“Fuck. I wish I was home so bad” Joe really felt like he wanted to cry. He didn’t really think being apart from Nicolo and his child was gonna be this hard. He felt like he was missing so much. He wanted so desperately to be there when Nicolo started showing so he can worship him and talk to their child day and night. It pained him to think that he might not be there when the baby started kicking. 

Nicky can see how upset his boyfriend was and how he was overthinking so he decided to distract him a bit with good news. “Doctor said that by the time you come home we can tell the sex of the baby. Also I might start feeling flutters maybe next month, but since it’s my first pregnancy you’ll feel them kick around the fourth or fifth month. So you’ll be home by then”

Joe nodded his head with a smile to push away his sadness. “That’s good. I don’t want to miss anything else. You’re feeling okay though?”

“Sì. Just tired and hungry” Joe noticed how Nicky was rubbing his bump unknowingly. It seemed it was a new habit for the man and Joe loves it just like all the other little ticks Nicky has.

“Any weird cravings yet?” He asked. 

“Not really” Nicky scrunched up his nose. “Just been eating plums like crazy”

Joe couldn’t help but smile as he said, “If I remember correctly mom had cravings for plums when she had me” 

“Really? I don’t know what my mother’s cravings were when she was expecting me"

“Maybe Marcella will know?” 

“Mh doubt it. We’re close in age so she would’ve been too young to noticed”

“Have you talked to her recently?”

“Yeah. About...three days ago. I think” Nicky tried to remember when it was he Skyped with his sister. “She told our parents that I’m gonna be heading back home soon. She made it seem like they were happy, but I doubt it”

“Think of the bright side. I get to see the home you grew up in” 

“True I suppose. I can take you to my favorite restaurant” 

“Oh I almost forgot. I think I may have a back up plan if Italy doesn’t work out” 

“Really? I was just thinking we can just go to the Netherlands”

“Well yeah. That’s a good idea” How did Joe not think of that? “But I did some research and found out that if we have our child in Malta and live there for a year, we can get citizenship there and several other places in Europe, including Italy”

“Really? That would be fantastic” 

“Yeah, but it’s up to you, Nicolo. You’re the one having our child so it’s up to you where you want to give birth"

Nicky nodded knowing Joe was going to say that. “How about this? If Italy doesn’t work out then we go to the Netherlands. I want our child to be born where at least one of us has grown up at. Malta would be nice, but it would be too new for us”

“You’re right. How about when we get married we’ll have our honeymoon there?” 

“You have yourself a deal, Mr Kaysani” Nicky smirked. He couldn’t help but fantasy when they do get married. He imagines them getting married in the same church where his parents did. Or even better they would get married on a cliff side. Andy or Lykon can officiate it so they don’t have to conform to a traditional cathlioc or muslim wedding. 

Joe stretched and let out a yawn as he finally felt the high energy from the concert leaving him. “You should lay down, Yusuf. I’ll stay on” Nicky reassured him. 

“Alright. You still gonna make your sandwich?” Joe asked as he lifted his laptop to go to the bed. He placed it down and laid on his side so he could look at the screen. 

“You bet I am” Nicky moved his own laptop to be on the kitchen counter. He pulled out a plate and grabbed the bread from the cabinet. He opened the fridge and pulled out the ham and condiments. He put them next to the bread and went back to the fridge to bend down and get the lettuce and tomato in the drawers on the bottom. Joe raised an eyebrow and fully appreciated the view. He let out a whistle and that made Nicky stand up to look over. As soon as he saw his lover’s smirk he knew exactly what he was thinking. 

“Should I wait to make my food?” He asked with his hands on his hips.

“No. You eat. Ignore me and my appreciation for your ass” 

“If you put it that way I’ll just wait to eat” 

“Really babe. We don’t have to” Joe didn’t want Nicky to feel pressured to do anything.

“Yes we do” Nicky told him as he grabbed his laptop to go to the bedroom. “I went to having sex at least three to four times a week to nothing. We definitely need to do this” He placed the laptop on the bed and laid down on his side, similar to Joe.    


Yusuf already had his hand rubbing at his cock over his sweats. He didn’t realize how horny he’s been since he had to leave his lover. “How do you want to do this?”    


“I don’t know” Nicky pushed his pants and underwear off but the laptop was pointed at his upper half of his body. He closed his eyes as he wrapped his hand around his half mast cock. “Just talk to me. Tell me what you want"

Yusuf can easily do that. “I miss your mouth. I miss your kisses so much. I miss all of you Nicolo.  _ Voglio solo sentire di nuovo il tuo calore. Per toccare ogni centimetro del tuo corpo”  _ **_(I just want to feel your warmth again. To touch every inch of your body)_ **

“I want to eat you out again. That one time was far from enough” He pushed his sweats down enough so he could fully wrap his hand around his cock. 

“Please” Nicolo whispered out. 

“Yeah. You want me to eat you out? Next time I want you to sit on my face” Nicky moaned out his approval as he moved his hand a little faster at the thought. “What else do you want, babe?” 

“Just wanna feel you. Want you in me” he softly said. He turned to open the bedside drawer to grab the lube and his toy he kept in there. He hasn’t used it again since Joe came along. Now he felt like this vibrator was gonna be his best friend while his boyfriend was away. 

Joe watched as Nicky poured lube onto his fingers to open himself up. “Miss your fingers” he whined out as he pushed a third one into himself to try to make up for the loss. He felt like he was stretched enough so he removed his fingers to grab the vibrator. He poured lube on it to make the entry more easy. 

“Show me” Joe demanded. There was no way he was gonna miss out on the sight of the toy entering his Nicolo. 

Nicky sat up to move the laptop near the end of the bed. He laid on his back and leaned against the pillows so he could still see the screen. “Good?” he asked as he spread his legs. 

“Fuck” Joe hissed out as he got full view of Nicky’s hard cock and stretched hole. He squeezed the bass of his cock to stop himself from coming from the sight.  _ “È perfetto Nicolo”  _

NIcky grabbed the toy again and moved his hand to rub the tip of the toy against his hole. He heard Joe groan which made him smirk. He figured he might as well put on a show for Yusuf. That way he will remember the experience for the rest of the tour. For the rest of his life actually. 

Joe couldn’t take his eyes off of the toy as it easily slid inside Nicky’s body. He stopped moving his hand altogether since he was close to coming. The toy was all the way in and Nicky leaned his head back to breath.    


“Okay?” Joe asked. Nicky opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at the screen. 

“Yeah. Why do you get a free show and I get nothing?” he questioned. Joe moved the laptop so the camera can show his cock hard and wet from his precum resting against his toned stomach.  _ “Fanculo.  _ Wanna wrap my mouth around you. I want you here next to me” 

“I wanna be home so bad” Joe really was tempted to just get a flight back to London. He needs to be there with Nicky and their child. He wants to draw Nicolo with his baby bump and watch as he bakes at Firelight. He wants to make love to him and make him cry out in pleasure every night. He just wants his usual routine back. 

Joe was pulled out of his thoughts by hearing Nicky moan and the sound of the toy vibrating. He was in awe at the vision on the screen. The man kept his legs spread and his free hand was wrapped around his leaking cock. In his other hand was the small remote that controlled the toy. Just the sounds of those soft moans and whines drove Yusuf crazy. 

“Set it higher” Nicky changed the setting from the four to seven. He let out a loud moan and gasped at how intense the pulsating was right against his prostate. He moved both his hands to grasp at the sheets as his back arched off the bed. 

“Too much. To much” He whined out as he felt his whole body shake from pleasure. 

“You look so beautiful my Nicolo” 

“Ah Yusuf” He was ready to jump through the screen from how his love called his name. He wanted to be the one to give him all that pleasure, not that toy. It seemed though that Nicky was only thinking of Yusuf as he had his eyes squeezed shut as he kept moaning out his name.

“You’re okay, habibi. Let go. I’m right here with you” He soothed. He could tell the man was close to coming by how his legs were starting to close and he got to the point of just spewing random Italian as he kept moaning. 

His hand wrapped around his own length as he moved his hand fast as he felt his stomach tightening from his on coming climax. 

“Fuck! Yusuf” Nicky’s back arched all the way off the bed as he came onto his stomach. Joe groaned as he came onto his own stomach. He kept rubbing cock through the after shock. He looked at the screen to see Nicky was shaking as the toy was still set high inside of him. 

“Baby” He called out. “Habibi” He said louder. “Nicolo!” The man opened his eyes and looked at the screen in a daze. “Can you grab the remote and turn it off for me, babe?” 

Nicky registered Joe’s soft voice and followed his instructions. “Good job, habibi. You did so good my love” He wanted to be there to help care for Nicolo. Usually after intense sex, he would go into a headspace where Joe would have to care for him to get him to relax. Joe really loves those moments since Nicky is his baby and caring for him will always bring him so much joy. “Can you do me a favor and pull the toy out? Be gentle okay” 

Nicky nodded his head and moved his hand down to slowly pull the vibrator out. He hissed at the oversensitivity and plopped the toy down next to his tired body. “Good job, baby. Now get the wipes from the bedside to clean yourself up” 

Joe was happy that his boyfriend was able to comprehend what he was saying. He grabbed the wipes to clean up the mess on his stomach. Joe took off his dirty shirt and pulled his sweats back up. “Just relax now. I’m right here, dear”

Nicky moved the laptop so he could lay on his side to still look at the man. “Yusuf” He was looking at his boyfriend with soft eyes and that sweet smile that warmed Joe’s heart. “Sing to me” 

“Any requests?” He asked. Nicky shook his head and closed his eyes again. “Very well” He thought of what song he should sing to his sated boyfriend. He decided on a song he’s been working on from the start of the tour. He has guitar chords to go along with the lyrics, but decided to just softly sing like a [lullaby](https://youtu.be/iMOnQbCHjMI). 

_ It’s not for me to believe in everything and of course love you should know that I can lie if I told you I know but the world is sincere when you whisper in my ears take me to a place where so we can vibe. Tell me all the rambling mess. And I will walk for the rest of my life. I'll climb all the mountains and sleep in the wild. Harden my chance I got the rest of my life.  _

Nicky opened his eyes to watch Joe sing since it will always be such a lovely sight. The singer smiled and kept singing, even if he didn’t have any lyrics planned for the second verse.

_ It’s not too late just a couple more years down the drain. Oh I know I made mistakes. I feel guilt for the things I can’t change, but there's nothing I feel when you whisper in my ears take me to a place so we can grow old. _

Joe watched as Nicky started to fall asleep to his voice. He kept singing softly still to be sure he was fully asleep.

_ I’ll follow you. Calling your name. Searching for something I can’t explain. And I won’t forget. How could I forget you, my love.  _

Joe moved to lay more comfortable on his side as he watched his love sleep. He smiled upon seeing the hand splayed on his stomach. “I’ll be home soon, little one. Once I’m back I’ll never leave again. I promise” 

He closed his eyes as he finally slept soundly for the first time this tour. Just seeing his family on the screen made him finally relax. He dreamt of holding his Nicolo with a large bump to show their child.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey boss. I pulled out those batch of cookies” Copley told Nicky who was eating his lunch. 

“Oh thank you, James. I almost forgot” Nicky put his fork down and smiled thankfully at the man.

“Of course. Um how’s Joe been?” He asked. Usually Quynh would talk to their boss about Joe, but she had a day off. James Copley would like to believe that he was slowly starting to become friends with the two. 

“He’s doing really well. We’re gonna Skype later on today” It’s been a month since their last video call. They still text and call every day though. 

“That’s exciting. Just a few more weeks till he’s back to London. Right?” 

Nicky took a second to fully piece together what the man said, but nodded his head with a grin. “Sì. I started feeling flutters so I guess the little one is excited” 

James smiled at his boss resting his hand on his stomach. When he found out that Nicky was pregnant he thought it was amazing. He never met a carrier before so it was amazing to see his baby bump start getting a bit bigger. 

“I’m sure Joe is just excited to see you two too” James was gonna keep making small talk when a customer walked in. He excused himself to go help the guest.

Nicky’s phone chimed to see it was a text from Booker. 

_ Sebastien: Hey. Can you give me a call? Got a problem.  _

Nicky immediately got concerned and cleared off the table to go to the kitchen to make the call. 

“Hey. What’s wrong?”

“I think Joe is losing it” Booker said into the phone.

“What do you mean?” Nicky asked. Booker sighed and moved to the back of the tour bus where Nile and Andy were trying to calm the man. He held the phone out so Nicky could hear everything.

_ “Get me the fuck off this bus! I’m done with this bullshit and these stupid fucking questions!”  _

“That’s what I mean” Booker held the phone back to his ear. Lykon asked the driver to stop but the next exit wasn’t for four more miles.

“Can you give him the phone?” Nicky requested as he rubbed his forehead. 

Booker walked closer to the madness and put a hand on Nile’s shoulder to stop trying to reason with their friend. “Hey Joe. Nicky wants to talk to you” 

Joe instantly looked at the drummer and grabbed the phone. “Habibi?” The group was surprised by how soft their friend’s voice was now. 

“Hi Yusuf. What’s going on?"

“This stupid lady kept pressing questions about you at our last interview. I haven’t been able to sleep for what feels like weeks. I’m just done with this bullshit” Joe ranted. The two women were at least thankful that he stopped yelling.

“I know it’s tough Yusuf, but I know how much performing means to you. You’re almost done and then you’ll be home” Nicky reasoned. 

Joe felt all his true emotions start rising from hearing Nicky’s voice. He turned his back to his friend’s so they could see the tears start falling.  _ “Non ce la faccio più. Non mi importa di tutte queste persone. Voglio essere a casa con te e il piccolo.  _ **_(I can not handle it anymore. I don't care about all these people. I want to be home with you and the little one)_ **

_ “Sono passati quasi quattro mesi e dovrei essere lì a scopare. Non bloccato qui nel bel mezzo del nulla in America”  _ **_(You’re almost four months along and I should fucking be there. Not stuck here in the middle of nowhere in America)_ **

Nicky’s heartbroke at hearing the sadness in Joe’s voice. He knew the man must be crying and he couldn’t stand for that. " _ Mancano ancora due settimane al tuo arrivo. Devi solo calmarti e riposare.”  _ **_(There are still two weeks left until your arrival. You just have to calm down and rest.)_ **

He was already undoing his apron so he could leave. He just had to inform James of the emergency. 

He listened to Joe let out a shaky sigh and he can just invision him running his hand through his curls. “I don’t think I can take another two weeks of this crap” 

“I know, darling. I wish you were home too, but this is your work, Yusuf. I know how much you worked on this and how you love making music. You would never forgive yourself if you end the tour early” 

Joe nodded his head knowing Nicky was right. “After this no more touring. Not for a long time. I wanna be home with you, habibi" 

“I know, my love. I’m gonna hang up and call your phone. I’m sure Sebastien would like his phone back” Joe turned to see Booker was whispering to Nile. 

“Okay. I’ll wait for your call” They hung up and Joe handed Booker his phone. “Thank 

“Of course. Figured he’ll be the only one to talk some sense in you” Booker patted his shoulder and gave a small smile. 

Joe’s phone rang and he quickly answered it. “Hi habibi” He walked past the two to get to the bunks. He climbed in his area and closed the curtain to try to maintain privacy. 

Nile laughed as Booker wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “If only we had Nicky around last year” she joked. Last tour they had to handle an even larger panic attack that Joe had. They really don’t know how they got through that, but they did. 

“We had Andy slap him around a couple of times” Booker remarked as he kissed the top of her head. 

“Are you laying down?” Nicky asked as he was walking to his apartment. 

“Yeah. The bunk is uncomfortable though” Joe whined. 

“I’m sure it is. Tell me about the show you had the night before” Nicky knew how their shows really brought a smile to his boyfriend’s face and he needs to cheer him up. 

“It was incredible as always. Fans threw some flowers on the stage which was nice” They still have a few flowers in a plastic cup on the small table. 

“That’s very lovely of them to do” Nicky pulled his keys from his pocket to unlock his door. 

“How’s the baby?”Joe hasn't stopped thinkkng how much their child must be now that a month has gone by.

“Really good. I’m starting to feel flutters so they must know their dad is coming home soon” Joe smiled as he pictured Nicky rubbing his bump and talking to their child.

“Don’t be mad, but I may have bought a pair of onesies in Oregon”

“Really? You’re gonna have to show me when we video chat later” Nicky sat down on the couch to be more comfortable. “When you get home, we’ll do a bit of shopping. We’ll do the rest once we get to Italy or the Netherlands”

“Sounds like a plan, habibi” He felt his eyes start to get heavy. “Have you started thinking of names?” 

“God no. I figured we could talk names once we found out the baby’s gender” Nicky couldn’t even think of a name at the moment that really called out to him. “Have you?”

“Nope. The band is betting on us naming our child something really Italian or a past famous artist” Nicky laughed and nodded his head. 

“Understandable on why they would think such a thing” 

“They're also betting on if it’s a boy or a girl” 

“What would you like? A son or a daughter?” Nicky wondered. 

“A little girl would be nice, but a boy who looks like you would also be lovely” 

“I want our child to look like you. A cute girl with your curls and beautiful skin” 

“I just want our baby to be healthy. That’s all I truly want” Joe told him. Nicky could tell from the man’s breathing that he was starting to fall asleep. Nicky kept talking about his work and the recent book he finished. He heard a soft snore and smiled.  _ “Sogni d'oro amore mio”  _ **_(Sweet dreams my love)_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've had a family emergency and it just got resolved, but I'm still mentally in a bad place. I wrote this chapter so weakly so I know this isn't the best written work. I'm gonna keep trying to write through this rough patch since it's my small little escape from reality. 
> 
> Feel free to comment anything you look forward to in future chapters. What will Joe and Nicky want their child to call them? Is it a boy or a girl? Any name suggestions. Just anything you want to talk about on this fic. Thank you for all the love and stay safe out there.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I will be posting again sometime next week. Please excuse any errors and enjoy.

“Hey habibi” Joe said into the phone. Andy and Booker were giggling and quietly mimicking their friend. “Just wanted to let you know we’re heading to our flight right now” 

“Alright. Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up at the airport?’ Nicky asked. 

“Yeah. Book and I are gonna share a cab once we land” He informed him. “I’ll text you when I get on the plane. Okay?” 

“Okay. Love you” 

“Love you too, babe. Bye” They hung up and Joe looked over where his two friends were giggling. He hit Booker’s shoulder, making them stop. “You guys are jerks” 

“It’s just so funny seeing you so in love” Andy said between her laughs. 

Joe rolled his eyes and remarked, “I don’t laugh at you two when you’re in love with someone” 

“I've never been in love so” Booker mumbled out. Joe instantly felt bad and decided to just shut up. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you fucking with me?” 

“No. The next flight is in three hours” Lykon informed the whole band. He talked to the attendant with their tour manager to try to fix the problem but there was nothing they could do. 

“There’s not like a connected flight?” Joe desperately asked. 

“Nothing” Joe groaned and ran his hands through his curly hair. He was so excited to just get home but now he has to wait three hours. That means he won’t be home till after midnight. 

“It’s okay. At least there’s a flight today” Nile tried to be hopeful as she rubbed the singer's shoulders. 

“I better call Nicolo” He stood up and moved away from everyone to have some privacy. 

“Ciao” he smiled upon hearing his boyfriend’s voice. 

“Habibi, my flight is being delayed” He broke the news. 

“Oh okay” He could hear Nicky’s sadness and he felt bad. “What time will you arrive in London then?” 

“After midnight most likely. I’m sorry, my love” 

“Don’t apologize, Yusuf. It’s fine. As long as you’re coming home I’m happy. We’re happy” Nicky reassured. 

“How’s the little one?” Joe was in amazement the other day when they video chatted. The bump was getting more prominent where Nicky admitted to stealing more of Joe’s shirts. 

“Okay. Flutters are getting stronger. I’m sure as so as you are here, they’re gonna kick for you” 

Joe laughed and nodded his head. “I love you guys so much” 

“We love you too” Nicky smiled as he rubbed his bump to calm those little kicks he was feeling. “I’ll stay up to welcome you home” 

“You really don’t have to. I’ll be home late, habibi. I would rather you rest” 

“Fine” Nicky pouted. “I’m gonna head to the cafe to make sure everything is okay. Text me when you get on your flight” 

“I will. Tell everyone I said hi” They bid their goodbyes and Joe went back over to the band. They decided to get some food to kill some time. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe carefully unlocked the apartment door and quietly opened the door. They landed in London at two in the morning so he knew Nicky would be asleep. He placed his duffle bag near the front door and fully walked into the living room. He smiled when he saw the banner hanging reading, ‘Welcome home Yusuf’ There were balloons on the ceiling and on the couch was the asleep Nicolo. He pulled out his phone to take a picture of the scene. He posted it on his Instagram story with the caption,  _ “Thanks delayed flight for ruining my welcome home surprise.”  _

He pocketed his phone and kneeled in front of his beautiful boyfriend. His heart melted when he saw the bump that he’s only seen on screen. Nicky’s shirt rised a bit while he was asleep so Joe softly creased the smooth skin. He looked at Nicolo to fully take in his beauty. His hair was getting longer and he must have recently stopped shaving from the stubble on his face. 

“Habibi” He quietly spoke. Joe was sure it must not be comfortable to sleep on the couch. “Nicolo, destati. Let’s go to bed” 

Nicky slowly opened his eyes and was confused at first to see Joe. “Yusuf?”

“Yeah. I’m home” It seemed like Nicky was shook awake from hearing Joe’s voice. 

“Joe!” He threw himself into the man’s arms and pressed kisses on Joe’s jaw and cheek.    


Joe laughed at his boyfriend’s reaction and wrapped his arms tightly around him. He nuzzled his nose against Nicky’s neck to breathe him. He truly missed the warmth and scent of his Nicolo. 

“Come on. Let’s get to bed” Joe pulled away from the hug. He stood up, but kept holding Nicky’s hands. 

“Hey” Joe looked down to see his love puckering his lips, asking for a kiss. 

He laughed and happily leaned down to kiss him. Joe nearly forgot how heavenly the man’s lips were. He cradled the back of Nicky’s head as he deepened the kiss.

“We can continue-” Nicky kissed him again. He kept talking between kisses. “This tomorrow- we should sleep- my love” 

Nicky wrapped his arms around Joe’s neck to pull him back down. Joe caught himself by placing his hands on the back of the couch. He didn’t want to place all his weight on Nicolo. They kept making out and Nicky’s hands wandered under his boyfriend’s shirt to feel his toned body. 

They pulled apart to catch his breath and Joe moved down to kiss Nicky’s neck. He may have left a hickey in a visible spot so everyone knew that he was back and Nicky was taken. It was already known though since the baby bump under the loose shirt showed who he belonged to. Joe was never one to be possessive, but there was something about a pregnant Nicky that really did things to him. 

When they were kissing again, Nicky pulled away to yawn.  _ “Andiamo a dormire, amore mio”  _ **_(Let’s go to sleep, my love)._ **

He pouted but agreed. Joe stood up and held his hands out for Nicky to take. They made their way to the bedroom and both changed to more comfortable clothes. Nicky simply took off his jeans so he was left in his boxer briefs. Joe took off both his jeans and his shirt. They got into bed and Nicky immediately cuddled up against Joe and sighed happily. They both drifted off to sleep with a smile on their face and the feeling of safety.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nicky opened his eyes and just stared at Joe. He thought he was dreaming that the man returned home, but here he was; in all his handsome glory. They were lying facing each other with their legs tangled together. Joe’s large hand was spread out on his baby bump and Nicky’s heart melted at the sight. 

Joe slowly woke up and smiled once he saw Nicky was awake too. “Bedhead?” 

He laughed and at the same time swooned at hearing his boyfriend’s rough morning voice. “Nicely tousled” 

Joe smiled brightly, making his eyes crinkled with joy. He moved to straddled Nicky as their lips met in a sweet kiss. Nicky laughed against the man’s lips and softly said, “I’m so happy you’re home” 

“I’m happy to be home to you, babe” Joe kissed Nicky’s nose and then rubbed his own nose against his. 

Nicky gasped which made Joe jump. “What? What’s wrong?” 

“The baby” was all the man said as he looked down at his stomach. Joe moved off of him to sit next to him. 

“What about the baby? Are they okay?” he rested his hand on his stomach with worried eyes. 

“They’re fine. Just-” It was now Joe’s turn to gasp. “You felt that right?” 

“Yeah. Was that-”

“Sì. Little one is kicking” 

“Allah. You really waited for me to come home, huh?” He said directly to the baby bump. Joe moved the man’s shirt up to his chest and he was in amazement by seeing the proof of their child. No picture or video could capture just how beautiful and wonderful the bump really was. 

“Keep talking to them” Nicky told him as he moved his hand to rub at Yusuf’s bicep. 

Yusuf placed his hands on either side of Nicolo’s stomach and started talking. “Hello little one. I’m finally home” There was a kick right under his right hand. “I see you're happy to hear me. Better prepare yourself in there. I’m gonna be talking to you every single day” 

Nicky laughed and remarked, “He really will, my child” He moved his own hand to rest against Joe’s. 

“I love you so much. I’m gonna always be here for you” He whispered like it was a secret between the baby and him. Joe kissed where he felt the last kick and then looked up at Nicolo. “Love you” 

“Love you too, Yusuf” He pulled for him to be closer so they could share a soft tender kiss. “Now, let’s eat. Your child is hungry” 

Joe accepted the request and the both of them got up to get ready for the day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nile climbed up the stars and finally reached her destination. She knocked on the door and waited. She wore a long sleeve white crop top and high waisted denim jeans. She wore her sneakers and a bulls hat to pull the look together. 

“What are you doing here?” She was welcomed when the door was open. 

“Nice to see you too, Book” she pushed her way past him and sat down on the couch. He had the football match on and there were beer bottles on the coffee table. She grabbed the cold one and took a sip of it. 

“It’s only been three days. Not that I don’t like seeing you, but I thought we were on a break” Booker said as he went to sit down next to Nile. 

“We are, but I got bored at my place” She shrugged as she finished the beer. They sat there watching the match and they would both shout in joy when Booker’s favorite team scored a goal. 

“So” Nile broke the silence once the game was over. “What’s your plan now that the band is on hiatus?” 

“No idea. Might stick around here or go back to France for a bit” He told her. “You?”

“No idea. Was thinking about going back to America to go back to school” 

“That would be great. I know how much you wanted to go to art school” Booker always felt bad that Nile just joined the band straight out of high school. She always had a passion for art design and photography. Each Christmas, he would give her a different camera or even once a digital art tablet. 

“I don’t know though. It would be weird to go back alone” 

“Is this you asking me to be your roommate in America?” He teased.

“No” She quickly denied, even though that truly was what she was hinting at. 

“I’m messing with you, Ni” He pulled her close by draping his arm around her shoulders. “If you want me to go with you, I will. Just say the word” 

“I can’t possibly ask you to do that, Seb. We’ve already spent two months stuck together” 

“You know I wouldn’t mind. Better to be with you than drinking away alone in my apartment” 

“You know I hate when you do that” She crossed her arms. 

“Do what?” 

“Make it seem like you being in pain is okay as long as you drink. Just talk to me” 

Booker looked at Nile and then to the alcohol on the table. “I made the break up seem like it was nothing. It was rough though” 

“How so?” she questioned. 

He moved away from Nile so he wasn’t making any physical contact. “She yelled some harsh things before she left” 

“Like?”  “She said that I was just using her. That I never loved her or found her attractive. It was all bullshit though. She just said that since she knows how I’m bi” 

“Why did you stay with her so long?” Nile softly asked. She was always curious on why the French man would ever date someone two years who he didn’t love. He looked at his hands and didn’t say anything. “Talk to me, Seb” 

Booker took a breath before finally growing the guts. He quickly moved his hand to hold Nile’s check and kissed her lips with all the emotions he’s held in for years now. Nile was wide eyed, but slowly closed her eyes and started to kiss back. She never thought that Booker could kiss with such gentleness. She pulled away and immediately felt bad since she could see the fear in Sebastien’s eyes 

“Fuck. I’m sorry. I didn’t-” He stopped mid sentence to run his hands through his hair. 

“It’s fine” She softly said. “I’m just confused” 

He quickly looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. “Confused?” 

“Yeah. I mean” she stopped and thought about what exactly happened a mere minute ago. Nile could still feel the tingle of Booker’s lips against her own and the rough hand gentle holding her cheek. “What was that exactly?” He gave her a knowing look and she sighed. “You know what I mean, Seb”  “I stayed with Julie because I wanted to hide my true feelings for you” Booker finally admitted. In all honesty, the night the two broke up, Julie yelled at him about how she knew he was in love with the bassist. He didn’t deny it and she blew up and left. 

Nile grabbed another beer and chugged half of it. She had to fully collect her thoughts. She finally voiced the one question that kept running in her mind. “How long?” 

“A month after we met. It was when I watch you punch that guy at the frat party for touching you” Nile let out a laugh at the memory. She remembers turning and seeing Booker looking at her with a shocked face and a red solo cup in hand. She also vividly remembers walking up to him and taking his cup of beer before walking away to go dance with Andy. 

“Why did you wait till now?’ She wondered out loud. 

He shrugged and said, “I felt like I waited long enough. The feelings never left after all these years so might as well make the jump” Nile nodded and went back to staring at her hands. “It’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I just don’t want it to be awkward between us”

“There’s no room for awkwardness, Book. We work together” she joked to ease the tension. “I just need time to think about all of this. I mean we’ve always had this connection so maybe this could work” 

"Even if we don’t go the next step, I don’t want to lose you as a friend, Nile” 

“You will never lose me” She stood up and slapped her hands on her thighs. “Now let’s go to the pub to drink cause I’m not gonna keep drinking in this dusty apartment”

“Fine” He stood up too with a smile. “First round is on you” He wrapped an around her shoulders as they walked out of the apartment. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nicky was sitting at the dining room table as he read a book with one hand and ate a plum with the other. Joe was in the shower and Nicky was tempted to join him, but the baby really wanted the fruit. He already took a shower early that morning after he finished his work at the bakery anyway. He heard the bathroom door open and footsteps coming down the hall. “I was thinking we should try out that new restaurant across from Firelight. Andy said it was really good last time I called” 

“That sounds good. Today or-” Nicky froze once he put his book down to look at Joe. “What happened to your” He put his fingertips to his own jaw as he just kept staring. 

Joe stood in the archway with his towel in hand from trying to dry his hair. He wasn’t wearing his shirt and there was still water dripping down his strong chest. The most shocking thing was that his beard was gone. His face was smooth and Nicky had very mixed emotions about that. 

“Oh, I said I was gonna shave when I came home” He rubbed his own hand against his cheek. “You don’t like it?” 

“I didn’t say that” Nicky quickly retorted as he set half the eaten plum on the table. “It’s just” He tilted his head and let out a small sigh. “You look different. Are you sure you’re still my Joe?” 

The man smirked in response and made the few strides over to Nicky. He placed one hand on the back of the chair he was sitting in and the other flat on the table. He leaned in and kissed those pink lips that haunt his dreams. Nicky hummed happily into it and angled his head to deepen the kiss. 

Joe pulled back and said, “Is that enough proof that it’s still me?” 

Nicky sighed dramatically which made Joe grin. “I suppose it does” He lifted his hand to rest on the freshly shaved cheek. “It does feel a bit odd not feeling your beard when you kiss me” 

“Well think of it this way” He leaned in to whisper in his ear. “You won’t have to deal with beard burn when I eat you out” 

Nicky licked his lips and can already feel the heat of arousal forming in his stomach. “Really? Maybe we should try it out” 

“Very well” Nicky yelped in surprise by Joe picking him up from his chair. He pressed his nose against the damp skin of his lover’s neck. He smelled like his soap yet underneath was that specific scent that could only be explained as Joe. 

Yusuf gently laid Nicolo down on their bed and softly kissed him with all his love. He helped Nicolo out of his jeans and underwear, but decided on leaving the shirt alone. He laid on his back and patted his lover’s thigh. Nicky took the hint and straddled him. Joe squeezed Nicky’s hips as they started making out again. They both were already hard and Nicky started grinding against Joe’s stomach to get friction.    
  


“Come on. I remember promising to let you sit on my face” Joe murmured out. Nicky giggled against his lips and nodded his head. 

“You did, but I don’t know how” he said shyly. Joe will probably never understand how his boyfriend could be so sexy yet be so innocent. 

“Just turn around” Nicky was confused, but listened to Joe’s instructions. He yelped in surprise when Yusuf’s strong grip manhandled his body to be hovering over his head. Joe moved his hands to get a handful of Nicolo’s perfect ass. He spread his cheeks to see his puckerhole. Nicky had shyly admitted their first night of reunion sex that he went to get waxed with Quynh. He found it odd when the woman asked him to join him at the waxing salon, but decided why not. It hurt like a bitch, but seeing Joe’s reaction was worth it. 

Nicky let out a low moan once Joe licked over his hole. His hands were squeezing his ass as his tongue started prodding to go past the tight ring of muscle. Nicky moved his right hand behind himself to get a handful of Joe’s unruly slightly damped hair. He found himself circling his hips to feel Joe’s tongue go deeper. 

Joe pulled away to catch his breath and to hear Nicky whine from the emptiness. His hole was wet from all the spit and it clenched around nothing. “So perfect” he groaned out before going back to eating him out. He was surprised when Nicky finally took that control which was what Joe was waiting for. There’s only been three times when Nicky would take control while they had sex. The first being when Nicky pushed him down on the bed and rode him until he spilled between them. The second time was when they went to the club with the band. The moment when they conceived their little one. The third was the one time Joe told him to do whatever he wanted to him. Nicky ended up tying his hands to the headboard with his tie and edging him until he deemed the right time to finally ride him to make him climax. Joe knew that Nicky really liked being pampered when it came to sex and, luckily for him, the man loved treating his partener with absolute care and love. He came to learn from Andy of all people that his precious Nicolo was a pillow princess. 

Nicky was moving his hips in the same perfect technique he used when he would be on top of his lover. Joe kept moving his tongue in the oh so pleasing motion while his boyfriend rode his face. Joe gripped Nicky’s hip with his left hand to stop his movements for a moment. He pushed two fingers into Nicolo, who hummed happily at the feeling. 

Joe smirked upon seeing that his boyfriend was already moving his hips again. “You’re so beautiful, my love” He trusted his fingers and curled them just the right way to hit his prostate. Nicky gripped the curly hair tighter as he started to move his hips faster. 

“Yes, please. Feels so good, Joe” He moaned out. His free hand moved down to wrap around his cock and started jerking off in the same rhythm as his hips. Joe’s mouth moved to lick and bite at Nicolo’s supple cheek until there were red marks all over. 

_“Così vicino”_ he whined out as his hand moved faster. **_(So close)._**

“Come, my love” Joe encouraged. Nicky let out a loud moan as his back arched. He kept moving his hand to milk out his orgasm as Joe kept rubbing soothingly at Nicky’s hips. 

Nicky slowly lifted himself and moved to lay next to Joe. His chest was rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath. 

“You okay?” Joe asked as he grimaced at the wetness in his shorts. 

Nicolo turned his head to look over at Yusuf and smiled. “Perfect” He suddenly felt a hard kick so he placed his hand where he felt it. “Seems like little one is awake from their nap” 

“Oh yeah” He moved to lay on his side. He put his hand under the shirt to touch the stretched skin. “Good morning, little one”

“Excited for the appointment tomorrow?” Nicky asked him. 

“Mh. Can’t wait to know if we’re having a boy or a girl. Then Nile could go crazy buying clothes for them” Joe remarked. He pulled the man closer to cuddle by wrapping his arm around him. 

“I still haven’t decided on what I want them to call me when they’re born” 

“Well what’s the choice?” Joe lifted their hands so he could play with Nicky’s fingers. 

“Dad or papa I suppose” he told him. 

“I was between baba or dad” Nicky was confused by the word so Joe decided to clarify. “Baba means dad in Arabic. I use to call my dad that as a child” 

“Baba suits you” Nicky could just imagine a small version of Yusuf running around calling, ‘baba’ to get his attention. “I might just let little one decided on what to call me” 

“We have five months to decide, habibi” He placed a soft kiss against Nicky’s lips before getting out of bed. He grabbed a wet cloth in the bathroom to clean up both of their messes and a change of clothes. Nicky let out a yawn showing that it was his turn to nap now. Joe lifted a blanket over them. He cuddled against Nicky’s back and rubbed his nose against the nape of his neck. They drifted off to sleep and will later wake up to go check out that new restaurant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello. Glad to see your back Joe” Dr. Wilson shaked the other father’s hand with a smile. She turned to Nicky and said, “You know the drill” 

Nicky nodded and undid his jean button and lifted his shirt to his chest. She pulled the ultrasound machine closer before dimming the lights. She applied the cold gel to the man’s stomach and rubbed it around with the transducer. 

The couple held hands as the doctor turned on the screen. “Alright. Here is the baby. Looks to be the right size for being twenty weeks along” She pressed buttons to get pictures and wrote down the child’s measurements. “It seems they are in the right position to see the sex. You want to know the gender, correct?” She asked. 

“Yes, please” Nicky softly said since Joe was distracted by the image of their little one. 

“You’re gonna have a baby boy” Joe gasped as Nicky smiled. 

“A son” He whispered out as he squeezed Nicolo’s hand a bit tighter. 

_ “Sì. Un figlio”  _ Nicky whispered back to him. They both stared at the screen with glossy eyes.  **_(Yes. A son)._ **

“I’m gonna print out some screenshots for you. Do you have any questions?” She asked. 

“Um, yes” Nicky spoke up. “We’re gonna be leaving London at the end of the week. So I was wondering if you had any-” he was having trouble finding the right word to use. He turned to his boyfriend and lightly patted his arm to get his attention away from the screen. 

Joe turned to the doctor and finished the sentence that Nicky started. “Any references for doctors in Genoa, Italy or Hague, Netherlands” 

“I know a few. I will make a list for you and I can email it to you” Dr Wilson told the couple. She turned off the machine and turned back on the lights. 

Joe wrote down his email for the doctor to send the reference list. She handed Nicky the manilla envelope with four copies of the ultrasound. For the past few months he would mail a letter and a copy of the ultrasound to Aafia and Mufiz. Aafia would call once she received the post and would rave about how beautiful the baby was. He would like to believe that they really love him and felt like he was a son. Nicky was sure they will be thrilled to learn they will be having a grandson. 

They walked out of the office with grins on their faces. Joe stopped Nicky by pulling him into a tight hug making him lift off the ground a few inches. “A son, Nicolo!” he shouted with glee.

He giggled and said, “I know, my love. I was right there” 

Nicky left his hands on Joe’s strong chest once the man put him back on the floor. Joe’s own hands moved to rest on the baby bump. He was staring at where the little one, their son, was growing with so much pride and joy. Nicky was just as enthusiastic as his boyfriend, but the worry of them going to Italy very soon was creeping up on him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Booker and Nile. How do you feel about them maybe being together? Nicky and Joe are having a baby boy. I'm still taking name suggestions or any other ideas you have for future chapters. Thank you for all the positive feedback and stay safe out there.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. I'm here early. This is the longest chapter so far with a little over 6k words. I could of ended it with a cliffhanger several points, but I couldn't put you guys through that. So prepare for a rollercoaster of a chapter and excuse any errors. Also most conversations with Nicky's parents are in Italian, but I didn't want to keep going back and forth on translating.

“We’re gonna miss you guys” Quynh pulled the couple into her arms with a sad smile. The band was all at the airport saying their goodbyes to Joe and Nicky before they got on their flight.    


“Make sure everything runs smoothly at Firelight. My sister should arrive next week to take over. Fair warning. Marcella is a lot more tough than I am” Nicky told her. 

“You got that, boss” She let him kiss her cheek before Andy pulled him into a hug. 

“Take care of yourself, Nicky. If your parents give you any trouble, just call me and I’ll get the first flight out there to kick their ass” Nicky laughed and nodded his head. 

“I can handle myself, but thank you Andromache” 

“I really regret telling you what my full name is” she had stupidly told Nicky her birth name after he kept pestering her. 

Booker pulled Joe into a tight hug and wished him luck. Nile hugged them both at once and wished they wouldn’t leave. She rubbed the baby bump and told her nephew that she will see him soon. 

“Maybe once we settle down you all can come visit” Joe told the group as he wrapped an arm around Nicky’s shoulders.

“That would be great” Nile said excitedly. She would love to do some sightseeing in either Italy or Netherlands. Booker nodded and wrapped his arm around Nile’s shoulders. She leaned into the hold with her own small smile. 

“You better text and call too” Andy told them. 

“Tell us when you go into labor” Lykon added. “We’ll all go over to see him” 

“Of course. Now we have to leave. We’re gonna miss our flight” Joe pulled them all into a group hug which made them laugh. They got onto their flight with their carryon and Nicky rested his head against Joe’s shoulder once they took their seats. Joe tangled their hands together as they waited for take off. 

_ “Stai bene?”  _ Joe softly asked.  **_(Are you okay?)_ **

_“Starò bene finché sarai al mio fianco”_ Nicky responded. **_(I’ll be okay as long as you’re by my side)_**

Joe smiled and turned to kiss his temple. He just had to be positive. Maybe then his Nicolo will relax and not worry. He was just meeting his future in laws. How bad could it be?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once they were off the flight they took a cab to the hotel they got a room in for two weeks. Nicky would love to just stay in his family home, but he wasn’t sure if his parents would allow it. They left their luggage in the room and Joe was amazed with the view. They could see the ocean and all the colorful buildings. He has never been to the city before and he couldn’t believe this was where his boyfriend grew up at. 

“Mercy said she’s at Firelight right now. It’s only a block from here so we can walk” Nicky informed him after he looked at his phone. They walked their way to the cafe and Joe could see all the nerves on Nicky. He was looking at the floor rather than looking around at all the venders. They were holding hands and Nicky’s other hand was on his baby bump. Before they left London, the man purchased special pants with the elastic on top and some bagger shirts since his bump was getting bigger. As they got closer to their location, Nicky pulled his hand away from Joe’s and removed his hand from his stomach. Before Nicky opened the door, Joe put his hand on his shoulder to stop him. 

“It’s gonna be okay, habibi” he whispered out in English. Nicky lightly scoffed as a response and opened the door. Joe desperately wants to kiss him to calm him or just put his hand on his waist. Anything just to ease the tension from the man’s shoulders. 

“Nico!” Joe watched as the woman, who was about 5’4 with long wavy brown blonde hair half up, ran and threw her arms around him. “I can’t believe you’re really here”

“Of course I am, Mercy” Nicky said in his first language. He pulled out of the hug to kiss both of his sister’s cheeks.

“Marcella, this is Joe” He introduced his lover. 

Joe went slightly wide eyed when the Italian woman, who looked fairly similar to his Nicolo, walked towards him. He was shocked by her pulling him into a hug. “It’s so lovely to meet you” She said in English. “I heard a fair share about you. Thank you for taking such good care of Nico and the baby” 

“I’ve heard a bit about you as well. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I see beauty runs in the family” 

“Wow” She turned to look at her brother. “He really is a charmer” She switched back to Italian. 

“Nicolo is that you?” They turned to see a mid aged woman coming out from the back door. She had an apron around her body and her hair braided. 

“Yes, mama. I’ve come back home” Nicky said. He walked over and pulled her into a hug, but not a close one so she wouldn’t feel his baby bump. Before pulling away he kissed both of her cheeks as a greeting. “How have you been?” 

“Just working. Your sister is a very poor baker compared to you so bless the lord you are back” She patted his shoulder as she walked over to make sure all the pastries were perfectly displayed. 

“Um, ma. Let me introduce you to someone” He held her hand to walk her over to where Joe and Marcella were standing at. “This is Joe. We meet in London and are living together” 

She looked at Joe and smiled. “Hello, I’m Celia” 

“It’s great to finally meet you. Firelight in London is really the best cafe in town” 

“I’m glad to know Nico was able to handle the location. I was unsure when he suggested we open another Firelight” She told him.    


“Where’s papa?” Nicky asked to change the subject. He didn’t want to hear his mother talk him down as soon as he got there. 

“He’s in the back” She turned and then shouted, “Alessio!” 

“What? Why are you always yelling?” A man walked out of the back and he looked really similar to Nicky. 

“Nico!” He shouted as he rushed over to pull his son into a tight hug. “Oh” He pulled away to look down at Nicky’s body. Nicky swallowed the lump in his throat waiting for his father to shout. “I see you’ve gain a few pounds from all that food in London” 

He laughed awkwardly and nodded. “Um yeah” He turned to look at Joe who weakly smiled. “Really happy to be home” Nicky lied. It pained him to look at his boyfriend since he can see he was hiding his hurt. Joe constantly bragged to their friend about their baby and now Nicky was hiding it and lying to his own parents.

“Now maybe your mother will get off my back now that you’re back. She’s been yelling at Mercy and me about how we weren’t baking the cannolis right” Alessio complained. Celia hit her husband’s arm to stop. 

“Papa, this is my roommate Joe” He introduced. 

“Hello sir” Joe extended his hand for a handshake. “I have to say your son is the most kind and gentle soul I’ve ever met” 

Alessio accepted the handshake and looked at his son. “He’s always been too soft. Not much Celia and I could do about that. Glad he met you though. You look like a strong brave man. What do you do for a living?” 

“I make music. We just finished touring a few weeks ago” Joe told them. He will admit that it was fairly hard to follow their Italian since they talked so fast and had a different dialect. 

“I’m impressed you speak Italiano so well” Celia pointed out. 

“I knew the basics before I met Nicolo. I feel like I know more Italiano than my own first language” Joe admitted. 

“What is your first language?” Marcella asked. 

“Arabic. I rarely speak it now unless my mother wants to gossip in public” he joked. 

“It was lovely meeting you, but we have to get back to work” Celia politely said. “Nico, help with the batch I’m making” She ordered.

“Actually I was gonna show Joe around town” 

“Nonsense you have work to do” His parents walked to the back expecting Nicky to follow. 

Nicky sighed and tilted his head up to look at the ceiling. He turned to look at Joe once he felt his hand on his shoulder. “It’s fine, habibi. We can do sightseeing tomorrow” 

“I know just” He rubbed his forehead frustrated. “Don’t want you to be alone” 

“I can keep him company, Nico” Marcella spoke up. “We’ll meet you back at home for dinner” 

Nicky looked at Joe unsure on what to do. “I’ll be fine. Just don’t stress so much. Not good for the little one” Joe discreetly rubbed the baby bump and could feel a light kick. 

“Very well then” Nicky kissed his cheek before nodding. He took a deep breath before turning to head to the kitchen. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So Nico vaguely told me how you two met. I’m sure he left out a lot” Marcella said. They were walking down the street arm in arm since Joe was always a gentleman. They were heading to a bar nearby to have a drink to relax.

“I took a liking to visiting Firelight almost every day. I was finishing up my pieces for the exhibit I was working on. One day, Nicky walked in and I was breathless upon seeing him. There was a familiarity but an urge to learn more about him. I went to the bathroom and when I returned he was sitting at the table I was at. He was very standoffish and was just trying to figure out why I was asking about him to the other worker. We met a second time and he seemed more at ease. Then I asked him out after my friends told me to grow the balls to” 

Marcella laughed and nodded. “Sounds like my brother. I’m glad he found you while he was out there. I was worried he wouldn’t make friends while in London”

“I think he was lonely before we met. My friends love him though so he’s a part of our family” Joe held the door open for her once they reached their destination. They sat at a table rather than the bar so they could chat more privately. She ordered a cocktail while Joe asked for water. 

Marcella could see how nervous the man was at leaving her brother alone. “You guys don’t spend much time apart?” 

“We do. A lot actually especially when we have to work” 

“Then it’s you leaving him with our parents”    
He pointed his hand in a finger gun motion and remarked, “Bingo” 

“He will be fine. If all goes to hell then he'll call you” 

“If you’re so sure” Joe took a sip of his water to try to calm down a bit. 

“How about we talk about my nephew?” She laughed at seeing how Joe’s face immediately brightened up. He moved to pull his wallet out of his pocket to pull out the most recent ultrasound. 

“He’s getting so big already. Doctor said he’s growing at the right size” He told her. 

“Wow. I can’t believe this” She set the picture down. “I never thought Nico would be having a baby. He never really acknowledged how he was a carrier since he found out. Used to tease him to use double protection when he would go home with some guy” 

Joe laughed and nodded. “He told me before we could have sex. He was really scared that I would run away” 

“He reacted the same way when he told me” She could vividly remember how he started crying after he told her. He was scared that she would see him as a freak. She actually thanked him and joked that now she won’t have to give ma her grandkids. 

“He’s really excited though. He thinks I don’t know just how much he talks to the little one” Joe smiled as he remembered when he caught Nicky complaining to his stomach about how baba was taking too long to buy more plums.

“Let me just say. Your son is gonna be getting all the ladies and men. With both of your looks and your charm. Everyone stay home” They both laughed since they knew it was true. 

“Would you mind taking me somewhere? I have an idea of something I want to get Nicky” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Our regulars noticed our pastries were different since you left. They kept asking me when you will be returning” Celia told him as they were portionizing the batch of biscotti. 

“Glad some people are happy I’m home” Nicky mumbled under his breath. 

He could feel his mother’s eyes on him and he tried to not let it get to him. “Your father is right. You put on weight. You don’t usually wear such loose clothes” 

He exhaled and lifted the tray he finished filling. “Guess so” 

“Why are you being so quiet?” Celia asked. 

“I’m not. Just working like you told me to?” 

“Are you mad you couldn’t go out with your roommate?” Nicky didn’t respond as he went back to cutting the dough in the right measurements. “Seems like your sister really likes him. Maybe he’ll be my future son in law” 

He couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of that statement. “I’m sure he will” 

“Can you just imagine the kids they will make? I keep telling her to give me grandbabies already. She kept making silly remarks about how you would” 

He looked at his mother with a raised eyebrow. “Why is that silly?” 

“Cause you won’t be having no child. You’re a man and that’s not normal. Unless you decide to be with a woman already” 

He held back all his emotions and finally asked the question he always wanted to ask. “When are you gonna accept that I’m a carrier? That I could easily give you the grandkids you desperately want” 

“Never” 

“Really? Never? Not even an estimated month or year?” Nicky put down the dough in his hand to turn to look at his mother. 

Celia also looked at Nicky and with a face that Nicky could only describe as disgust said, “Not until I’m buried in the ground” 

Nicky gasped and rested his hand on his stomach when he felt an extra hard kick. “Great now you're gonna cry about it. Don’t be doing that in my kitchen” 

He wanted to yell at her, say anything, but there was another hard kick. He rushed out of the room with his hand resting on his stomach. He could feel everyone's eyes on him as he ran to the bathroom. 

Nicky could feel his face wet and he looked in the mirror to see he was crying. He gasped at another hard kick and he rubbed his stomach. “It’s okay little one” Another kick. “Okay maybe not. I’ll call baba” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thank you” Joe said to the worker as he accepted the small bag. He heard his phone ring so he pulled it out of his pocket to see it was Nicky.  “Hi habibi. Everything going okay over there?” He asked. Marcella glanced at the tall man with a smile since she could hear the softness in his voice. 

“Yusuf something is wrong” Nicky breathed out. 

Joe stopped walking and froze. “What’s wrong? Is it the baby?” 

Marcella looked at him with worry. “I don’t know. I need you” he whined out. 

“Alright. I’m heading to the cafe now” He hung up the phone and pocketed it again. “Mercy, can you hold onto this? I’m gonna run over there” 

“Of course. I’ll meet you there” She held the small bag and watched as Joe sprinted in the direction of the cafe. 

He busted into the building and ran to where Alessio was talking to a guest. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but is Nicolo in the back still?” 

“I think he ran to the bathroom. He was crying so I didn’t try to talk to him” Alessio told him. Joe rushed down the hall and to the men’s bathroom. He knocked and meekly heard a “occupied.” 

“It’s me, Nicolo” The door quickly opened and he got an armful of a crying Nicky. “Habibi, what’s wrong? Is the little one okay?” He kept one hand wrapped around the man’s body and the other on the baby bump.  “I don’t know. There were really hard kicks that hurt bad” Nicky informed him. 

“We should take you to the hospital. Just to be sure he’s okay” He kept his arm around his boyfriend to lead him out the bathroom.

“She said she wouldn’t ever accept that I can have a child” Joe stopped walking confused. 

“Who did?” 

“My mother. She said not until she is put into the ground that she would accept my child” 

Joe was having a hard time of thinking of what to say. “I’m sorry my love. Just remember that you have so many people who love and accept you” 

Nicky nodded and lifted his hands to wipe away all his tears. “I know. I don’t need to go to the hospital. The kicks stopped once I called you. I think he knew I was upset and wanted you to be here” 

“Are you sure?” Yusuf asked with worried eyes. 

“I’m sure. Thank you for rushing over” Nicky hugged Joe tightly and nuzzled his nose into the crook of his neck.    


“Of course habibi. I love you so much” He kissed his temple as he rubbed his back in soothing circles. 

“I love you too” Nicky mumbled out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you sure?” Joe asked for what felt like the hundredth time. 

“Yes Joe” Nicky pulled on his cardigan. “I know it seems dumb to go to dinner, but I’ve missed mother’s food terribly” 

Joe stopped him from opening the door and told him, “As soon as they say something too far we leave. You hear me?” 

Nicky sighed and nodded. “Of course, Yusuf” He kissed his cheek to show that he understood what his boyfriend said. 

They got to the home that looked like a beautiful villa. Marcella opened the door and hugged her brother tightly. “I’m glad you both are okay. I was worried when Joe ran off” 

“We’re fine” He kissed her cheek before letting Joe hug her. 

“I just finished setting the table so dinner should be out soon” She informed them before walking towards the kitchen.

Joe noticed the pictures in the hallway and started to look at them. “Is this you?” He pointed at the framed picture. 

“Yeah. I was around five and Mercy was six” Joe smiled as he really studied the photograph. Nicky’s hair was more blond as a child and had a bandaid on his cheek. His eyes seemed so much brighter than now. It must be since he was just a kid with no worry in the world. He wore a blue shirt with cute overalls. He had a huge smile as he leaned against his sister's side. 

“Glad to see exactly how our little one will look like” Joe remarked in english. Nicky laughed and moved closer so his love could wrap his arm around him. 

“Our child will hopefully not look like me. Your mother sent me a picture of you as a child and I rather hope little one looks like you” 

He looked at Nicky surprised. “What picture did she send you?” He smiled as he pulled his wallet out to show the polaroid picture Aafia sent him. He handed it to Yusuf so he could look at his younger self. “You carry it around with you?”  “Yes. That way you’re always with me” Nicky rested his head on his shoulder so they could both look at the picture. From the writing on the bottom, they knew Joe was six years old. His hair was curly and wild since he must have been running around outside. He wore blue shorts with a green shirt tucked in. He held out a branch as if it was a sword and he was gonna attack. Nicky thought it was the most perfect picture that Aafia could send. You could tell how adventurous and brave the child was and how it still carried on to the man he is now. 

“You have to agree that our son would look so cute if he looked like you” 

“I suppose” Joe wanted to kiss Nicky’s lips at that moment, but knew his parents could walk out of the kitchen. Nicky looked behind them before leaning in and kissing him himself. It was a quick peck on the lips that made them both crave more. 

They jumped apart when they heard the door swing open. His mother and father were both carrying a dish while Marcella carried a pitcher of water and a bottle of wine in the other hand.

“Nico!” His father shouted out upon seeing his son. Nicky and Joe walked over to sit down at the table. Nicky sat in between his boyfriend and his sister while his parents sat across from them. 

“Surprised you two decided to join us” Celia remarked as she set the platter of food down. 

“I’ve so desperately missed your food, mama” He said as he poured himself and Joe a glass of water. 

“I would too if I was to ever leave” Alessio remarked with a smile. 

They all served themselves and Joe was met with heaven in his mouth. “Allah. No words can describe how good this is” Joe said after swallowing his bite of food. “Nicolo prepares most of our meals” 

“Do you not cook?” Celia asked.    


“I do. It’s just I’m scared I will end up burning down the kitchen” Everyone laughed at the table and Joe smiled as he glanced at Nicky to see he was already staring back. “I think Nicky and I would both prefer his cooking over mine” 

“I love it when you cook, but you might be right” Nicky added.

“So you said you work in music?” Alessio asked. 

“I do. My friends from college decided to form a band for fun. It then progressed to a full time job” 

“He also makes art. He premiered an art exhibit and sold all his work” Nicky praised. 

“That’s impressive. What kind of art do you make?” Celia asked. 

Joe finished chewing his bite of food before talking since his mother raised him with manners. “Mostly charcoal sketches and painting pictures I take while traveling” 

“So you’re more of a creative mind than an intellectual mind” Alessio commented. 

“Both actually” Nicky already knew where this was going and he couldn’t help but smirk as he took a sip of water. “Before I had the career I have now, I was studying human biology at Stanford. I was top of my classes and was planning on working as a lab tech to make vaccines to cure illnesses or viruses” Everyone was looking at Joe with amazement as Nicky kept eating with a smug smile. Joe loved seeing his boyfriend with that look so he kept going. 

“I have an IQ of 149 so the school gave me a scholarship which my parents were thankful for. I did a lot of clubs along with my studies. Chess, choir, and band. I knew I wasn’t gonna be happy if I ended up graduating and doing the career I always planned. I had passion for the arts so I tested the probability of dropping out. Even though the odds were in favor of being a lab tech, I dropped out and formed the band. My best decision in life I believe cause I wouldn’t be sitting here next to your son”

He moved his hand to rest on Nicky’s thigh under the table to show him just what he meant. If he could he would place his hand on his stomach instead to fully get his point across. “That’s really impressive” Alessio was truly amazed by how brilliant the man was. 

“Marcella, why don’t you tell him about your schooling?” Celia urged her daughter. 

The woman looked up from pushing her food around. “I don’t think-”

“Go on” Ceila ordered. 

She was tempted to not listen, but knew better. “I finished nursing school earlier this year. I’m waiting to get a job since I’ve been helping at the cafe” 

“Congratulations. What field are you looking to pursue in? Emergency room, peditraction, general practice?” Joe asked, interested. 

“Most likely general practice. ER seems too stressful and I can’t stand kids so-”

“Marcella!” Celia cut her off. “She actually loves kids, Joe. Wants a bunch of babies” 

“Um no I don’t” Marcella spoke up. 

“Quiet” She quietly warned her daughter. “My Marcella is so beautiful yet she’s only introduced us to one of her boyfriends. It’s around time she settles down. Are you single, Joe?” 

“No actually. Happily taken” Joe rubbed Nicky’s thigh soothingly since he can feel the man go tense. They both knew where this conversation was going. 

“Oh what a shame. Your girlfriend must be so beautiful” Celia complimented. 

“He is really beautiful” Joe made sure to put emphasis on he. They both watched as the parents seemed to freeze at the statement. 

“Oh” Alessio put his utensils down on his plate. “I guess we should of figured that out since you’re Nico’s friend” 

Joe made eye contact with Nicky, who had his jaw clenched with nerves and eyes fearful. He gave his boyfriend a small smile and Nicky felt reassured seeing the warmth in Joe’s hazel eyes. Nicky cleared his throat as he pushed his almost cleared plate away from himself. 

“Joe isn’t really my roommate” He can feel his hands start shaking as he just tore the figurative bandaid off. “He’s my boyfriend” 

He kept his eyes glued on his mother as he saw the anger and disgust reach her eyes. “Is this why you came home? So the whole town can judge us for having you sinners here?” She seethed out. 

“No. Actually we came to-” 

“I don’t care why, Nicolo. I thought we agreed to never talk about what you are?” 

“You mean gay” 

“Don’t say that word in my house” 

“Why not?” Nicky felt this power come over him to finally stand up for himself. It could be since he felt Joe go stiff from hearing such harsh words. He knew this was what Yusuf feared when he didn’t want to come out to his parents. “That’s what I am and you’ve known that” 

“But I told you-”

“You didn’t tell me anything!” He shouted. “You just left the room and stopped treating me like your son! You treated me like I was a stranger that worked for you!”

“I want you out of my house! The both of you! I don’t want to see you ever again! You aren’t no son of mine!” She shouted. 

And that broke the dam. He can feel the tears streaming down his face upon hearing his mother shout those words at him. He looked over at his father, who was looking at his plate. “Papa” he whispered out, almost childlike. 

The man looked up with sorrow in his eyes. Nicolo hoped that for once his father would stand up for him. After he came out to his parents, Alessio always comforted his son privately when his wife wasn’t looking. Sure, Nicolo wasn’t the son he was hoping for. Always thought he would have a strong manly pure Italian son, but instead got (what Joe said) a kind gentle son, who found pleasure in men rather than women. He still loves Nicolo none the less and couldn’t stand to see him go through pain because of harsh words. 

“You should leave” Alessio told him. 

Nicky scoffed as he ran a hand through his hair. “So that’s it. You’re both just throwing me out. When I’m the reason Firelight is so successful” 

“You’re nothing to us. We don’t need you and we should have done this sooner” Celia told him with such venom in her voice. 

Nicky's sadness suddenly turned into pure anger. Since, yeah, they should have done this sooner. He shouldn’t have wasted so many years just working for them and not letting himself be happy. “Fine then” He pushed back his chair and stood up while throwing his napkin on to his plate. He made sure to stare directly into his mother’s eyes as he spited out, “Fuck you” 

He stormed out and Yusuf watched until his mind caught up to him. He rushed after his boyfriend, foregoing saying bye considering. “Nicky!” He shouted as he tried to catch up to him. “Nicolo!” He reached the man and stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder. 

“What!” Nicky shouted as he turned to face Joe. His heart broke at seeing the man he loves with tears streaming down his cheeks with pain and anger, the eyes that he only wanted to see joy in. “What do you want?! There’s nothing you can say that could make this better, Yusuf! My parents just disowned me!” 

“I know” Yusuf softly said as he started crying too. “I know, Nicolo. I’m here though. You aren’t alone. You have so many people who love you now. Our friends. My parents. Your sister” He reached out to hold his shaking hands. 

Nicky shook his head as he let Joe hold his hands. “They don’t accept us. They won’t accept our son” He whispered out. “I lost my job. The only thing I know” 

“We’ll be okay though. They’re gonna realize their mistake and come crawling back to you” 

Nicky couldn’t help but laugh at how confidently his boyfriend can say those words. His laughter then turned into a groan of pain. “What’s wrong?” Joe was instantly filled with worry as he moved his hands to rest on Nicky’s hips as he kept whimpering in pain. “Is it the baby?” Nicky could only nod as he felt fresh tears coming on. 

“Fuck” Joe whispered out. He looked around and thankfully saw a cab nearby. “Come on” He wrapped his arm around Nicky’s waist to help him walk towards the car. The driver was leaning against the car smoking. “Sir. Can you take us to the nearest hospital?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The doctor walked over to the couple who were anxiously waiting for the results. There were curtains around the bed and chair to give them a bit of privacy in the emergency room. Nicky laid in the bed with the hospital gown on while Joe sat next to the bed with his head in his hands. 

“Hello gentlemen” She made her presence known. Joe whipped his head up while Nicky looked at her with dull eyes. “The test came back fine. Your baby is okay” It appeared all their worries vanished. Joe sighed with relief as he reached for his partner's hand. Nicky looked down at his bump with a smile, thankful his little one was strong. 

“I will like to keep you here for a couple of days. There was a lot of bleeding which is very worrying for a male pregnancy” 

Joe knew Nicky didn’t feel like talking so he spoke up. “Yes. That’s fine with us. Thank you” 

The doctor smiled and left to handle her other patients. Joe watched as Nicky rubbed his stomach with his other hand in soothing circles like he was calming their child. “You okay?” No response. Not even a glance. “We can head to the Netherlands as soon as you want” 

“As soon as I’m released we leave” Nicky quietly spoke.    


Joe nodded his understandment. “Okay, habibi” He was sorta hoping he wanted to stay longer. He thought maybe the Genoa air and sights would get Nicolo to relax before having to get on a plane. 

He stood and leaned in to kiss Nicky’s forehead. “I can tell you want to be alone so I’m gonna go outside. I’ll come back in an hour” Joe soft told him. They only had a huge fight once before Italy. Joe always was the type to keep jabbing and wanting to be forgivin for his stupid choice of words. Nicky was more of a let time heal all wounds. He also got very angry when his partner would want to talk things out the minute they stopped yelling at one another. He needed space to think clearly and get all his emotions settled down. They both learned what the other needed so that way it wouldn’t happen ever again in the future. 

Joe leaned against the building as he ran his hands through his curls. He really didn’t expect this to go so bad. That’s a lie. He knew it wasn’t gonna go well, but not this disastrous. He looked at the time to see he couldn’t call his parents since they were probably at the mosque. A part of him wanted Nicolo’s family to understand their son’s pain and their mistake of treating him so unfairly. Another side of him wanted to keep his Nicolo as far away from them as he could. Not to ever see such cruel people again. 

He groaned as he hated what he decided to do. He just kept repeating to himself, ‘This for Nicolo. For his Nicolo and their son’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. “Joe?” Marcella was confused seeing the man standing before her. “What are you doing here? Where’s Nico?”

“Where’s your parents?” He asked, ignoring her questions.

“In the living room. What’s going on?” She questioned.

“I need you to go with Nicky. He’s in the hospital” Joe told her.

“Hospital? Is he okay? The baby?” She was scared at the idea that her brother had lost his child. 

“Everything is fine. I think he needs you more than me” Joe eased her worries and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Go” He softly demanded. Mercy turned to grab her coat and purse to leave. She left the door open for Joe since it seemed he wanted to talk to her parents. 

He rubbed his hands together to stop them from shaking. Joe walked into the living room to see Celia was crocheting and Alessio was watching tv. “Hi” He softly showed his presence. 

They turned to see Joe standing in the archway. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?” Celia asked angrily. 

“Marcella let me in” He told them. Before either of them could say anything he started saying the speech he had prepared. “I know you don’t want me here, but please hear me out” 

He stared with hopeful eyes as he kept talking, “I know Nicolo isn’t everything you wanted in a son, but he is still your child. I never met someone who loves their parents more than their parents loved them. Nicolo holds so much love in his heart and he is so forgiving. I’m sure he will gladly come home if you gave the most unhonest apology and that kills me. He doesn’t deserve that. He deserves all the love he gives out back. Sadly I don’t think my love, his sister’s love, my friends love could ever replace yours”

He walked the distance to the couch they were sitting on and pulled out the picture from his pocket. He handed it carefully to Celia who surprisingly accepted it. They both looked at the ultrasound as they listened to Joe keep talking.    
  
“Three months into our relationship we found out he was pregnant. It was unexpected but we couldn’t be happier” Celia looked up at him and he could still see that anger in her eyes but there was a sliver of fondness. “We came here in hopes that you would be accepting. That your hatred would be overpowered by your want of being grandparents. We love our son very much and” He paused as he tried to get his emotions under control. He wanted to remain neutral during this conversation rather than show his frustration with Nicky’s parents. 

“If it was my way, I wouldn’t want you anywhere near my child. Like I said though, Nicolo is so kind and forgiving that he would gladly want you in the baby’s life. I love your son very much. I don’t think I will ever find someone ever in my life that I love more than Nicolo. I want to protect him and our son, but if you being in his life is what would make him happy then so be it. I have no say because I only want my Nicolo to be happy” 

Yusuf put his hands in his pockets as he looked at the floor. “We’ll be leaving once Nicky is out of the hospital. We’ll be going to the Netherlands to be close to my parents. You are welcome to call us when you’re ready to be a part of our lives” He nodded his head as he said everything he wanted to. 

“I’ll leave now” He gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You can keep that” He pointed at the ultrasound that Celia was still holding. “I have another copy in my suitcase” He walked away not surprised that neither of them chased after him. He made his way back to the hospital and walked towards the back to the bed that Nicky was in. He smiled at the sight of Nicky laughing at something Marcella said. He fully walked into the space and stood on the other side of the bed. He wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders to pull him into a half hug. He kissed his forehead and Nicky looked up at him. 

“Where were? I was starting to get worried” Joe looked over at Marcella silently thanking her for not telling her brother that he was at the family home. 

“Just clearing my mind, habibi” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next will be a lot happier. I promise. I'm open to any comments. Long or short. I love getting feedback and it really motivates me to keep writing. I love you all and thank you for stick around on this read. Stay safe out there and see you soon.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone. I hope you enjoy this chapter and excuse any mistakes. Read endnotes for more info.

“I got it, Yusuf” Nicky lifted his carry-on suitcase, but his boyfriend took it from his hands.    


“Nope. No heavy lifting for expecting parents” Joe remarked with a smile. The doctor had told the soon to be parents that Nicky needed to take it easy. No heavy lifting and especially no stress. “Come on. Ma and Dad are waiting for us” 

Aafia and Mufiz were surprised that they were coming to the Netherlands sooner than they said. Joe told them that he would tell them what happened once they arrived and to not worry. Marcella stayed with her brother in the hospital for the two days he was admitted. She would tell him about the wild customers he missed out on and just reminisce about their childhood. Joe appreciated her presence since he wasn’t sure he could make Nicky smile as much as he did with her in just a worrying time. 

Nicky grinned and basically ran to bend down to hug Aafia. “So happy to see you too, my boy” She softly told him. She looked over his shoulder to her son with worried eyes since Nicky was holding her so tight. Yusuf gave her a sad smile and a nod. She rubbed his back and kissed his cheek.  She pulled out of the embrace with a soft smile on her face. “Look at you” She held the edge of the black cardigan Nicolo was wearing so she could see the noticeable baby bump. “My grandson is getting so big. Aren’t you little one?” She rubbed his bump as she stared at it with so much love in her eyes.  “You got our letter then?” Nicky asked. 

“We did. A boy” She said dreamily. “Is it what you were hoping for?” Aafia asked as they held hands to walk towards the exit. Mufiz helped his son with the rest of the luggage and stated the obvious, “It didn’t go well with his parents” 

“I’ll tell you and ma later. Right now I just want to get Nicolo comfortable here” It was the most that Joe could do to help his boyfriend. They got to the car and Mufiz drove to Segbroek, which is a peaceful suburban area the family has resided in since Yusuf was born. 

“It’s so beautiful here” Nicky was looking out the window at all the modern and older buildings. As they kept driving, there were more trees and small shops rather than large markets.

“Here we are” Mufiz parked the car in front of the house Joe called home. It was a nice size home with two bedrooms and a nice little backyard where Mufiz planted his garden. 

“Thank you so much for letting us stay here till we find a place of our own” Nicky thanked them as they got out of the car. 

“Of course. Stay as long as you two need. We don’t mind the company”

“If anything we were going crazy from just the two of us living here” Mufiz joked. They walked into the home and Nicky smiled at seeing all the pictures of a young Joe on the walls. 

“I’m feeling a bit tired. Would you mind if I went to take a nap?” Nicky asked. He felt bad that he really just wanted to get into a bed and sleep the day away. 

“No need to ask, Nicky. If rest is what you and the baby need then so be it” Aafia informed him. Nicky walked over to her to embrace her again. He kissed her cheek and softly thanked her again. 

“I’ll show you to the room” Joe held out his hand for his boyfriend to take. He took him upstairs and to his bedroom. It was a full bed thankfully so they wouldn’t have to be squeezed into a twin sized one. Joe already brought their luggage to the room so Nicky opened up his bag to pull out some sweats and a shirt. He changed and crawled into the bed with a sigh. Joe decided to lay with his love until he fell asleep.

They laid facing each other and Joe, as usual, took in his love's beauty. It seemed like Nicolo was even more stunning as the pregnancy carried on. His hair was still long and had a shine to it. His skin was clearer somehow and he just had this joy to him that wasn’t there before.

Joe lifted his hand to move a few strands of blondish hair away from the blue green eyes he could get lost into. “I love you” Nicky whispered out. 

“I love you too, habibi. Sleep” They held hands as Nicky closed his eyes to finally rest. He felt a safety in the home that he hadn’t felt since he left London. It could be that he was away from his parents, or it’s the love in the atmosphere that the Al-Kaysani always had around them. Joe kept stroking Nicky’s hair until the man fell asleep. He laid there for a couple of more minutes to just watch his boyfriend sleep. He finally decided to get up since he knew he had to catch his parents up to speed. 

Joe quietly closed the door to only be slightly opened. He went back to the kitchen to see his mother was putting the kettle on the stove. “You want some tea, Yusuf?” She asked her son. 

“Please” He softly responded as he sat down on the stool next to the kitchen island. 

“I’ll take a cup too, dear” Mufiz walked in from the backyard. He placed a hand on his wife’s hip and kissed her cheek. He went to the cabinet to pull out the biscuits he got at the shop nearby. 

“So” Mufiz sat down next to his son. “No good in Italy”  Joe shook his head and repeated, “No good in Italy” 

“He wrote about how scared he was to go back home. Were his parents that bad?” Aafia asked as she prepared their cups. 

“Worse. Nicky came out to them when he was in high school. The same time they found out he was a carrier. I guess they didn’t talked about it until now” 

“Did they yell?” Aafia wondered out loud. 

“His mom did. She said really cruel things to Nicky when he finally told them I was his boyfriend” Mufiz patted his son on his shoulder since he can see the hurt in Yusuf’s eyes. 

“So he didn’t get a chance to tell them about the baby?” 

“He stormed out and ended up going to the hospital”

“Hospital? You didn’t tell me about a hospital when you called” 

“I didn’t want you to freak out, Mama. It was just a scare. He was overstressed so the doctor kept him there for two days” Joe explained to ease his mother’s worries. “I ended up going back to the house to talk to his parents” 

“What did you tell them?” Mufiz asked, concerned. He knew his son was very protective when it came to the people or items he loves. 

“I told them about how Nicky deserves their love and that he’s so kind and too forgiving” Aafia set the teacup in front of her son before pouring her husband a cup. “I then told them about the baby” 

Joe could see his mother about to argue about what a terrible choice that was. “I know I shouldn’t have, but they have a right to know. I just told them that when the day comes when they have forgiveness in their hearts, Nicky will accept them back into his life. Even if I wouldn’t want them near my family I will accept Nicolo’s decision” 

Mufiz looked at his wife, who seemed to be contemplating on what reaction to have. “I think that was very mature of you to do, Yusuf. Even if they have a different viewpoint, I’m proud that you went and stood up for Nicky” 

Joe wasn’t sure if it was because he was still holding onto the stress or because his father told him he was proud of him, but he started to cry. Mufiz moved closer to pull his son into an embrace. “I’m proud of you, my boy” he whispered. 

Yusuf wrapped his arms tighter around his dad as he kept crying. “Hey” Mufiz softly said as he pulled Yusuf away from him. “No need to cry” He rested his forehead against his sons. Joe smiled since this action was something they did since he was child. Whenever he was upset his father would press his forehead against his own to calm him. 

“Thank you, Baba” Joe whispered when he felt his nerves settle. They pulled away and saw that Aafia were watching the two with a smile. Yusuf walked around the kitchen island to pull his mother into a hug.    


“I love you to the moon and back” Aafia told him before she kissed his cheek. 

Nicky wiped away his tears from behind the wall that was hiding him. He wanted to run into his boyfriend's arms and kiss away his tears. He wanted to thank him for the actions he did while he was in the hospital. He never had anyone stand up for him the way Yusuf said he did. He decided to wait later to thank the man as he snuck back upstairs to lay back down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Nicolo woke up from his nap he felt a thousand times better. He got out of bed and tried to tame his wild hair. He tied up his hair with the hair tie around his wrist before leaving the room. He walked down the stairs to hear classical music playing. He followed the music to the living room where Aafia was sitting with a book in her hands. 

“Oh, Nicky” She noticed the man as she was turning the page. She placed her bookmark and closed the hardcover book. “Did you sleep well?” 

“I did” He rubbed his cheek as he looked around. “Where’s Joe?” 

“He went to the store with Mufiz. Should be back soon” She placed her reading glasses on top of her head before standing up. “Are you hungry?” 

“A little bit” Nicky admitted. “Actually, do you have plums?” 

“I sure do. Yusuf told me you’ve been craving plums so I stocked up for you” She walked over to hold his hand to head to the kitchen. Nicky sat down on a stool while Aafia went to the fridge to pull out the container of plums she cut while the man was asleep. 

“Here you go, sweetie” She set it down in front of him with a fork. “I also purchased some jams that might satisfy your craving” 

“You really didn’t have to do that Aafia” He told her after taking a bit of the fruit. 

“Nonsense. Anything for you and my grandson” She grinned as she moved to start preparing for dinner.

“Little one’s happy” Nicky rubbed the side of his bump where he felt his son kicking.

“Oh could I feel?” Aafia politely asked. 

“Of course” He moved the stool back a bit so Aafia had more room. She gently placed her hand near Nicky’s own hand. She let out a little gasp as the baby kicked. 

“Feels like he’s a strong little one” She smiled. 

“I’m dreading when I’m further along since he’s already so active” 

“Yusuf was a really active baby so I know your pain” She remarked as she rubbed the baby bump before walking back to the counter. “It will be all worth it though” 

“I know it will be” Nicky could just imagine staring at his son when he’s born for hours. “Do you need any help with dinner?” 

“No. You just eat your fruit. I’m making Yusuf’s favorite so you can take some notes. I have the recipe written somewhere so I’ll give it to you later” 

“I will love that. Thank you Aafia” Nicky kept eating the plums happily as Aafia moved around the kitchen in a perfect rhythm. Just like Joe, his mother seemed to have a calming effect and the quiet was never awkward. 

“I was thinking” Aafia broke the silence as she finished cutting the vegetables. “When you’re up for it, I can show you how I make my baklava” 

She couldn’t help but laugh at seeing the joy spark into the man’s eyes. “I would love that. It would be an honor” He placed a hand on his chest to show how touched he was. “I can even show you how I make tiramisu since Yusuf loves it so much” 

“Sounds like it’ll be a fun day” She was glad to see her future son in law finally be happy. She couldn’t stand to see his downcasted eyes because of his stupid parents. 

They both heard the front door open and Aafia’s smile grew wider at seeing Nicky look at the direction of the door. She would forever be grateful that her son found Nicky. The look in her Yusuf’s eyes when he saw Nicky was something beyond what she could wish for. It was the same expression that Mufiz still gives to her to this day. 

“Hey, habibi” Yusuf placed the clothed grocery bag on the counter before walking over to pull his partner into a hug. “Did you sleep well?” 

“Si” Joe kissed his forehead before pulling out the items from the bag.

“Good. I bought you some of those chips you like and more plums” Joe told him. 

“I got you mango and raspberry sorbet they were selling. Thought maybe you would like it” Mufiz showed him the containers before putting them in the freezer. 

“Thank you, Mufiz. I’ll give them a try tonight” The four of them stayed in the kitchen to keep talking. It was mostly Aafia and Mufiz telling stories about Joe when he was growing up. Of how wild and brave the boy was no matter what stood in his way. Nicky’s heart swelled at the thought of their child being the same way. 

Joe and Nicky went to bed a bit early since Nicky still felt drained. Nicky laid his head on Joe’s chest with his eyes closed. Joe had a book opened in one hand and the other running through Nicky’s hair. He had started reading a Roman mythology book that Booker had given him before they left England. He was softly reading aloud as Nicky drifted off to sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You have to be very delicate with the dough or the layers won’t hold up” Aafia explained as her hands were covered in flour. It’s been a week since they arrived in the Netherlands. Nicky had spent some days alone in the bedroom since he still felt restless. He appreciated Aafia bringing him tea and plums whenever she got the chance to try to cheer him up. They had the process while baking where she would demonstrate and then Nicky would try. While the pan was in the oven, Nicky started to show Aafia his recipe of tiramisu. 

“Just like your baklava, no one knows my recipe for my tiramisu” Nicky smiled as he finished whipping up the mascarpone. 

“Really? Not even your family” Aafia questioned as she finished dipping the last ladyfinger in the espresso. 

“Nope. I made adjustments to mama’s recipes which made us more popular. I never wrote it down so that’s why customers were complaining when I was away” 

“Smart boy” She smirked and patted his arm. 

“That’s why they’re screwed without me” Nicky remarked. 

“Maybe you should open your own bakery. You would get a lot of business out here selling amazing Italian pastries”

“I don’t know. I was thinking of just focusing on the baby when he’s born. I never realized how much stress I had from the job” 

“Not having stress is the best thing for the baby” Nicky showed her how he layers his desert which was slightly similar to her baklava. “Yusuf said you two are gonna start looking for a home out here”

“Yeah. I think he has an idea on where we should move. I just want a big yard so little one can run around when he’s old enough” 

“Wise choice. I hope it’s nearby though so we can pop in as much as possible” Aafia said. 

“I’ll be sure we will. We might need some help since it’s the first one”

“First one?” She tried to hide her excitement but failed. 

Nicky laughed and nodded his head. “Of course. Yusuf always said he wants a big family. I never liked only having a sister so definitely more than two” 

“Bless you for joining this family and giving me the grandchildren I’ve always wanted” She reached to hold Nicky’s hand. 

They went back to finishing up their baking when Nicky decided to ask the question he’s been wondering for a while. “Can I ask why you only had Yusuf? It seems like you really love children” 

He can see the hint of sadness in the woman’s eyes and was gonna apologize for crossing a line. She beat him to the punch though and explained why to him. 

“We had a hard time conceiving Yusuf. When we did it was a very troubling pregnancy. I was bleeding a lot and had fainting spells. I do love children, but my body wasn’t made for it. Yusuf is our little blessing and we couldn’t be more thankful to have him as a son” 

“I’m sorry to hear that. You guys didn’t want to try medical assistance on trying for another baby at the time?” 

“We wanted to, but it was so expensive. Mufiz was already working two jobs to provide for us and I couldn’t ever ask him for such a thing. I think it was fate for us to have Yusuf and for him to meet you” 

“I think it truly was fate. If I hadn’t pushed my parents about opening another location in London, I wouldn’t have met him at all. I would still be miserable in Italy” 

“Now you have true parental figures that you deserve with Mufiz and I” Nicky looked down to hide the tears forming in his eyes. He felt a gentle hand lift his chin so he would look up. “You deserve to have motherly love and respect, Nicolo. I’m gonna always be here for you dear. No matter what I will always be here with open arms. Whether you need someone to talk to or just to get a big mama bear hug” Nicky let out a teary laugh which made Aafia laugh too. 

“Can I get one now?” Nicky asked as he wiped away his tears. 

“Of course, my boy” She pulled him into the warmest and loving hug that he always hoped to receive again one day from his own mother. He closed his eyes as he cherished the loving gesture. 

“Thank you so much, Aafia” He said once they pulled apart.    


“You can call me Ma if you will like. You’re family” She reached out for Nicky to bend down so she can kiss his cheek. He found Aafia's height of only 5’3 very endearing. Especially when Joe would lift her off her feet in a tight hug. Joe tends to give those kinds of hugs to anyone he cherishes including his bandmates. 

They both went through the routine of washing the dirty dishes with Aafia washing and Nicky drying and putting them in the correct area. Joe walked in with dirt on his pants and shirt. 

“It smells delicious in here” He commented with a grin. He was making his way to his boyfriend to pull him into a hug, but Nicky outstretched his arms to stop him. 

“You are all dirty. What were you doing out there?” Nicky questioned. 

“Dad had me move rocks to the other side of the yard and then help mix some soils” Joe explained as he went to the fridge to get a cold bottle of water. “Don’t worry, Ma. I left my boots outside” He bent down and kissed her cheek. 

“Good. Where’s dad?” She asked. 

“Admiring his work that I mostly did” Joe teased. 

“I’ll take him something to drink” She grabbed a glass to get ice cold water to take to her husband. Joe looked over at Nicky who shook his head. 

“Don’t you dare” Nicky tried to put up a fight as Joe moved closer till his arms were wrapped around him. “Joe” he whined out. 

“Give me love. I’ve been working hard and want your kisses” Joe whined back playfully. 

Nicky sighed before happily kissing his lips. Joe smiled into it as he tightened his embrace. “Love you” Joe said against his lips. 

Nicky smiled and deepened the kiss for a quick moment. He didn’t want to be making out when Joe’s parents came back into the house. “You really should shower” Nicky told him. 

“Very well. How do you feel about looking at a house I found that’s twelve minutes away? It’s in the town I think will be perfect for us” Joe asked.

“Yeah. It’ll be good to move before I get further along” Nicky rubbed his bump where he felt small kicks. Joe placed his own hand on the bump with a smile. He couldn’t wait till the bump was bigger. He knew Nicolo would look so gorgeous. “Go shower” Nicky light pushed at Joe’s shoulder with a small smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What did she say?” Nicky whispered to his partner. They were in the empty house that the realtor was showing them. She was talking Dutch which Nicky didn’t speak. 

“She said there are four rooms and two bathrooms. One is connected to the master bedroom. Big backyard with a pool. Also said the price” Joe translated. 

“How much?” Nicky asked, curious. 

“Don’t worry about it. I got it” he told him.

“Yusuf” Nicky was gonna argue when the woman started talking again. 

Joe thanked her in the language and she walked out the front door. “She said she’ll leave us so we can look around” 

Nicky nodded and then asked, “What do you mean by I got it?”

“With my savings it’s enough to cover the house. That is if you want to move here” Joe has always been very smart with his money. He’s had a saving account since he was nineteen and anytime he earned money he put half the check into the account. He’s always worked odd jobs during college which made him more money. Even when his income got bigger from the band he still kept his savings going. 

Nicky looked around with a thoughtful look. “It’s pretty big for just the three of us” He stated. 

“Yeah, but if we have more kids or if we have guests over we’ll have enough space” Joe reasoned. 

He turned to look at him with his arms already crossed. “But how long are we really gonna be living here?” 

“What do you mean?” Joe furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. 

“Just if you go back to work would we be able to stay here in the Netherlands? I mean yes it’s lovely to be living so close to your parents but what if I need to help in London” Nicky questioned.

Joe didn’t want to upset his boyfriend by saying that he won’t be going back to Firelight. “I already told management that I won’t be releasing any music for a least a year. The longest would be two years. So we’ll be here long enough to get a home here” 

“Okay, but not this one” Joe laughed and pulled his love into an embrace 

“I think she can show us another home that is smaller” Nicky pecked Joe’s lips before they left to check out the other house.

This one was two streets away and was in a suburb area. Joe saw a nice park on the way there which was perfect for their little one. He translated for Nicky that the house was two bedrooms and one bath. She showed them the backyard and they were pleased to see it was definitely big enough for their son. Joe felt like the house was similar to his childhood home and could just see them living there. He looked at Nicky to see he was already looking at him with a smile of his own. 

“This one” Nicky simply stated. Joe nodded and moved closer to wrap his arm around his waist. “The room at the end of the hall is perfect for a nursery”

Joe looked at the realtor and told her, “We’ll take this one” He talked with her about the paperwork and payment. Nicky walked towards the large glass door to look into the backyard. It suddenly felt very real for the both of them. This was the home where they were gonna raise their son, their family. Nicky looked over his shoulder to see Joe was already staring at him with a soft expression. They smiled at one another before Joe focused back on the realtor. Nicolo felt like this was a new chapter in his life. He’s with the man he loves and carrying his child. They’re moving into a home together where they will raise their son. It was a new fresh start where he didn’t have to hide who he was. He finally felt true happiness and it was sad to admit, but he has to thank his parents for it. If they hadn’t disowned him, he would still be living a lonely life with one night stands in Italy, too fearful to have a relationship with a man. He felt free and was excited to see what was ahead for him in this new life. It seems like the little one is excited too from the kicks Nicky felt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking next chapter I'll have Nicky have the baby. I didn't want this to get to long so I'm not sure if I'll have two or three more chapters until it's over. I will have a sequel since I was thinking of having a story for each album. Incase you guys forgot The Scythians is based off of the band Young The Giant. If you listen to their third album I'm sure you'll figure out what their son's name will be. 
> 
> There will be a gap between this and the sequel though since I really should focus on my unfinished fics in other fandoms. However i will be releasing a Nicky/Joe oneshot. It will be a/b/o fic which I'm excited about. It's nearly finished so it should be up soon. Thank you for reading as usual and don't be scared to leave a comment about what you think will happen next chapter. I always love reading your comments and always motivates me to write. I love you all and stay safe out there.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being gone so long. Been working on other fics while I was away. I'm looking for a new job currently so I figure I should write as much as before I get one. So here is the chapter you've been waiting for. As usual excuse any errors.

Nicky and Joe easily found all the furniture they needed for their new home. All the delivery just arrived and Nicky was cutting open the boxes so Joe could start assembling what he needed to. There was a knock on the door so Nicky went to answer it since he figured it would be another delivery. 

“Oh my god! What are you doing here?” Nicky shouted as he pulled Marcella into a tight hug. He looked behind her to see Andy and Quynh smiling. 

“We heard you guys needed help moving in” She said before kissing his cheek as a greeting. Nicky moved to hug his two friends just as tight and they both marveled over how much bigger Nicky’s bump has gotten. 

“Why didn’t you text me you were on the way here?” Joe said as a form of greeting. He hugged them with a huge smile to have some of his family here. 

“We wanted to surprise both of you” Andy told him. 

“Book and Nile are on their flight from America” Quynh acknowledged. 

“They ended up going after all?” Nicky asked. Nile had told him he was thinking about going, but wasn’t sure. 

“Yeah. They seem to be doing good. Found a cute apartment” Quynh added as she lifted a piece of the bookshelf to hand to Joe. “Lykon had to go back home since he’s dad is sick again” 

“I’m sure he’ll pull through. He’s a strong man just like Lykon” The quiet man’s father had cancer five years ago and was in remission until now. Lykon always spoke fondly of the man so the group couldn’t imagine if he had lost him.

“How’s Firelight?” Nicky asked his sister.    


“Okay. Guests are complaining that the baked goods aren’t good anymore. What did you do, Nico?” 

“I did nothing. Just made adjustments to mama’s recipes” he shyly said as he rubbed his bump. The baby must know Nicky is excited to see some of his family again. 

“Is this your revenge on mama and papa?” Marcella questioned with her hands on her hips. 

“Maybe. Maybe not” Nicky walked over to the kitchen to put away all the pots and pans he bought. 

“I say Nicky has every right to not share his recipes since he won’t let me beat your parent’s ass for hurting him” Andy remarked with an angry look. Quynh really had to talk her girlfriend down from buying a ticket to Italy to give them a piece of her mind. 

Marcella went into the kitchen to help her brother arrange all the equipment. Quynh and Andy helped Joe build the bookshelf and other items needed in the living room area. “Babe, you want us to build the furniture in our room or the nursery?” 

“Please say nursery” Quynh held her hand together and gave puppy dog eyes to the expecting man. 

“Sorry Q, but I want to wait till Nile and Book get here” Nicky patted her shoulder with a smile. He too was very excited to start assembling the nursery. Joe and him may have gone a little overboard when buying items for their son. 

In the next hour there was a knock on the door. Joe ran down the stairs to answer the door to see Booker and Nile. “Hey guys. We’re all upstairs getting our room set up” The two followed Joe upstairs and Nile ran to hug Nicky as soon as she saw him. 

“I missed you too” Nicky said through his laughter. He wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed the warmth of her embrace.    


“How has the baby gotten bigger since we last saw you?” She placed her hand on his baby bump with a smile. 

“Yeah. You got big” Nile turned and hit Booker’s shoulder. 

“It’s fine. He’s not wrong. I’m five months along so I’m only gonna get bigger” 

“You’re beautiful, habibi. You’re carrying our son and you glow while you cradle him” Joe said from across the room. Nicky looked over at his boyfriend with a soft smile in return. The man has constantly been giving Nicky compliments and praise to make up for all of his insecurities of getting further along with the pregnancy. 

“Did you guys get paint for the nursery?” Nile asked as she took off her jacket. 

“Yeah. We got this really nice purple to paint the whole room. I figured we can do that while Nicky and Marcella go out for lunch”

“Lunch? What about us?” Andy argued. 

“You’re gonna help us build the crib and other stuff. Nicky can’t be breathing in all the fumes” Joe explained. Quynh grinned and kissed her girlfriend's cheek to wipe away the pout. 

“I’ll make some baklava when we get back. How about that?” Nicky moved to wrap his arms around the woman’s waist in a side hug. 

“Baklava? What kind?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“None other than Aafia Al-Kaysani’s”

Andy’s eyes went wide in shock. “You got her recipe? She gave it to you?” Nicky just smiled which made Andy wrap him in a full hug. “Please make me all the baklava” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So how does it feel?” Booker asked while smirking over at Joe. They had been painting for a few minutes with some soft music playing in the background. It seemed like Andy was just flicking paint onto Quynh which made her retaliate. Nile was focused on painting the wall since she wanted nothing but perfection for her nephew. 

“How does what feel?” Joe asked as he kept rolling the paint brush. He must admit that Nicky really did pick a nice color. Joe originally wanted a pastel green, but the purple was perfect. 

“How does it feel to know you’re gonna be a dad soon?” Booker elaborated. 

“I don’t know man” Joe shrugged his shoulders. “I always wanted to be a dad so I feel excited. There’s a bit of nervousness that I won’t be good at caring for him” 

“You will be good at taking care of your son” Quynh jumped into the conversation. Joe turned to see she was standing with her hands on her hips. “Even if you can't, Nicky is gonna teach you. He naturally just takes care of people” 

“He does?” Joe tried to figure out what she meant by that.

“When we’re at Firelight he knows exactly when we are nearing the end of our drink and he’ll bring another one over. He learned how to style my hair when I complained that I miss my mom doing my hair. He has a kindness to him that translates to caring for us” Nile told him. 

He realized that she was right. When he was mad at writing music, Nicky would walk over with a cup of tea and sit in his lap and kiss his face till he calmed down. He even gives away the leftover baked goods at the end of the day to a homeless shelter. 

“He’s gonna make a good papa” A smile ghosted his lips as he lifted his paintbrush to keep painting. Not only would his Nicolo make a great papa, but also a great husband.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How are you liking it out here, Nico?” Marcella asked her brother as they picked up the food order Nicky called in ahead of time. There was no way he was gonna get lunch without the rest of his friends. 

“It’s really lovely. Everyone is so nice here. Joe’s parents have been really supportive”

“That’s good. I was worried that you would be alone out here” Marcella confessed. She truthfully was scared that Joe’s parents weren’t gonna be supportive of their relationship like their own parents. She smiled at seeing Nicky rub his bump as he looked out the window. She focused back on the road as she spoke again. “Just four more months” 

“Four more months” he repeated.

“I was wondering how does giving birth go?” Marcella wondered. 

“I’ll get a c-section. The doctor said it’s possible to give natural birth but the success rate is low” Nicky explained. Marcella tried not to put much thought on how a natural birth would work so she just focused on driving back to the home. 

“How’s ma and papa?” Nicky finally asked the question he’s been wondering for weeks now. 

“They're okay” She told him. 

Nicky could tell that his sister was lying or at least not saying something. “You can tell me the truth Mercy” 

She clenched her jaw in the similar way her brother did when he was considering his options.  _ “La mamma mi ha detto di non parlare con te. Che il tuo stile di vita rovinerà l'attività.”  _ **_(Mama told me not to talk to you. That your lifestyle will ruin our business)._ **

Nicky pushed his emotions down as he stared out the windshield. He nodded his head expecting such words from his mother. It confirmed though that he would not be going back to the cafe.  _ “Sai che non è vero, Nico. Solo perché hai trovato l'amore con un uomo non significa che sia una vergogna. Abbiamo effettivamente perso affari da quando te ne sei andato.”  _ **_(You know it's not true, Nico. Just because you've found love with a man doesn't mean it's a shame. We have actually lost business since you left.)._ **

_ “Cosa hanno detto di Joe?”  _ **_(What did they say about Joe?)_ **

Marcella glanced at Nicky with uncertainty. “I know he went to talk to them when I was in the hospital” She nodded in understanding. Joe had made it seem like he wasn’t gonna tell Nicky. Not until their son was born so there was no risk.    


“She said he was disrespectful for saying such things to her. Other cruel things. Papa actually admires Joe for standing up for you to mama when he never could” Nicky felt relieved that his father still loves him after him yelling at him. “She put the picture on the fridge though” 

Nicky quickly looked at his sister and asked, “What picture?”

“Joe gave them a sonogram picture of the baby. When papa calls me he asks how you and the baby are doing. I actually have a gift in my bag from papa for you” Marcella pulled into the driveway of the home and parked the car. She looked over at Nicky and was scared to see him crying. “Oh no. Please don’t cry. Joe will kill me for making you cry” 

She unbuckled her seatbelt to pull Nicky into a hug to comfort him. “He won’t lay a hand on you” Nicky laughed while he wiped away his tears. “It’s not your fault anyway” He kissed her cheek and pulled down the visor to look at himself in the mirror. He made sure to wipe away all his tears and to make himself look presentable. They got out of the car with bags of food and carrier of drinks. 

_“Il cibo è qui!”_ Nicky yelled up the stairs. **_(Food is here!)_**

The siblings were pulling out the containers when they heard the group coming down the stairs. “You are a blessing, Nicky” Andy kissed his cheek and accepted the styrofoam tray of food. 

“Habibi” Joe’s voice was filled with concern as he moved to stand next to his boyfriend. He put his hands on his cheek so they were facing each other. “Why were you crying?” Joe quickly looked over at Marcella. “Why was he crying?” 

“It wasn’t Mercy’s fault. I’m fine, Yusuf” He gave him a look that told him they’ll talk about it later. Joe nodded and kissed the tip of Nicky’s nose before pulling away. They ate as a family before they went back upstairs to finish up the nursery. Nicky and Marcella stayed in the kitchen to make two batches of baklava. Joe and Andy both agreed that Nicky’s baklava was just as delicious as Aafia’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What’s that?” Joe asked as Nicky placed a medium size gift box on the bed. There was a ribbon tied around it and an envelope attached to it. 

“From papa” he simply said as he grabbed the envelope. He got into the bed so he could rest his head on Joe’s chest. “You read it” Nicky handed the paper to Joe since he knew he wouldn’t be able to read the words himself. 

Joe opened the envelope to find lined paper with neat handwriting. He cleared his throat to prepare to read the Italian words from Alessio De Genova. 

“Dear son. I know you aren’t expecting this gift after how you left home. Your partner Joe told us that you will be moving to the Netherlands and Marcella says you’ve settled down well there. I wish you were able to tell me that you were expecting a child but I’m happy Joe told us. I may not have been a great father to you Nico, but I will be sure to be a good grandpa. Even if your mother doesn’t come along to the idea, I hope I can still be a part of your life. I think she’ll come along though since I catch her staring at the picture of your son every morning. I love you so much Nicolo. You may not be the son I always imagined, but you turned out to be even better. I hope this gift for your family will make up for not being brave when you were here in Italy. Also I hope you will be able to come back to Firelight. We truly are lost without you” 

Nicky wiped away the stray tears and sat up to open up the box. Joe sat up with him and rubbed a soothing hand on Nicky’s back to show his support. He opened up the box and pushed the tissue paper away to see a crochet pastel blue blanket and an octopus plushie. Each leg of the octopus played different melodies in Italian. Nicky smiled when heard the same lullaby that his father sang to him as a child. Joe smiled and kissed Nicky’s temple. This was the step of forgiveness that he knew would come one day from the parents. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nicky was now approaching the seven month mark. His bump extended a bit further and his belly button popped out. Joe found it extremely adorable while Nicky did not. Their son has been kicking up a storm where Joe could see exactly where he kicked. The expecting man hated having to pee constantly more than the morning sickness he had in the beginning. 

The thing that surprised Joe the most was at how horny Nicky has been. Sure they use to have sex fairly often before the pregnancy but now they were going at it almost every day. The doctor said it was normal since Nicky’s hormone levels will be all over the place at the period of time. 

Joe really didn’t mind all the sex. If anything it gave him more time to really admire Nicolo heavily pregnant. He got to touch the taunt skin and learn all the new curves that will translate perfectly to pen and paper. He has so many sketches of his pregnant lover in his journal that he would be able to show his son in the future. At least the pg rated ones. 

He loves how Nicky’s hair has gotten to be shoulder length and he had Joe trim off an inch or two since he didn’t want it super long. He had a whole glow to him that only expecting parents would have. He always considered Nicolo to be beautiful, but pregnant Nicolo was out of the world gorgeous. He will constantly wonder until his last day on earth on how lucky he got to call this man his.

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

“If my feet end up hurting you’re gonna have to carry me out of here” Nicky remarked. Joe drove them over to the Haagse Bos park. His parents always took him to the forest when he was young. Most of his childhood pictures were actually taken there. 

“Of course, habibi” Joe reached out to rub where his son resides currently. Nicky was now seven and a half months along so his feet would hurt from the extra weight. 

Nicky was looking up at the large trees in amazement. “Wow. It’s beautiful here” 

“Indeed” Joe was just staring at his love rather than the view. He held Nicky’s hand as they walked over to the wooden bridge where a couple of other people were walking. “This is the oldest forest in the country and was actually used during the world wars”

Nicky leaned on the wood railing to look down into the river where there were a few fish swimming. “I can’t wait till little one can run around here like you did” He said as he rubbed his side where he felt a kick. There were a few people staring when they were walking, but Nicky was at the point of not caring. His doctor told him there haven’t been many male pregnancies in the city so she traveled down from Amsterdam. 

“Nicolo” he turned to see Joe smiling at him with his hands in his pockets. “I know I say it constantly, but I love you. I will forever be thankful for going into Firelight and meeting you. That I listened to Andy and asked you out cause I wouldn’t be here right now, with you by my side carrying our child” 

Joe looked down with a small smile before he pulled his hands from his pockets to get down on one knee. “Yusuf” Nicky gasped out at seeing the ring box Joe was holding out. 

_ “Mi vuoi sposare, Nicolo?”  _ Joe asked in Nicky’s mother tongue.  **_(Will you marry me, Nicolo?)_ **

_“Sì. Sì. Certo, Yusuf.”_ Nicky told him with tears in his eyes. **_(Yes. Yes. Of course, Yusuf)_**

Joe quickly stood up and kissed Nicky with excitement and love. He was scared that Nicky wasn’t gonna accept his proposal which was really stupid. Even Marcella thought it was stupid when she went with him to get the ring in Italy. 

Nicky couldn’t stop smiling as Joe slid the ring on his finger. It was a black band with a rose gold strip around it and inside the band. As soon as Joe saw it he knew it was perfect for Nicky and he couldn’t have been more right now it was around his finger. 

“I love you, Yusuf” Nicky pulled him into a tight hug so he could bury his face into Joe’s neck. Joe was grinning as he lifted one of his hands to hold the back of Nicky’s head as he enjoyed the joy that their engagement brought.

“I love you too, Nicolo” He moved Nicky back a bit so they could kiss. They were oblivious to the people who were cheering for their engagement. 

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

“Here you go, habibi” Joe smiled as he handed over the new sandwich that Nicky loves. It was a peanut butter sandwich that had slices of pickles inside. He didn’t question the combination since Nicky seems to only eat weird things now since he’s almost full term. 

“Thank you” Nicky happily ate the sandwich while resting the plate on his bump. He was sitting on the couch watching the new season of Great British Bake Off. He would occasionally yell at the tv in Italian on what stupid choice it was to leave the pan in the oven longer. Joe watched Nicky with love in his eyes rather than actually watching the show.

When Nicky was done with his sandwich he moved to lay down on the couch with his legs in Joe’s lap. Joe automatically started to massage the man’s swollen feet which made Nicky hum happily. “We still haven’t picked a name for our little one. My due date is in two weeks” 

“I know. It’s just difficult to come up with a name. Do you want to do more of an Italian name?”

"I don't know. I want something different. Something strong” Joe nodded and started to go through his mind to come up with a powerful name. “What about Titus?” 

Nicky looked over at his fiance with a thoughtful expression. “Titus” he repeated. 

“Yeah. Titus the roman emperor. He completed the Colosseum and was a military commander before his ruling. He had a relationship with the Jewish queen which was frowned upon since there was a Jewish - Roman war happening” 

“I like it. Titus Al-Kaysani. It has a ring to it” Nicky smiled and looked down at this bump. “What do you say little one. You a Titus?” He felt a hard kick where his hand was which made him look up at Joe with a raised eyebrow. “I think he likes it”

Joe moved closer so he could kiss the baby bump. “I love you very much, Titus. I can’t wait to hold you. Just two more weeks” 

“Two more weeks”

_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _

__ Nicky was refolding all the baby clothes that were put away. He was anxious since next week he’ll be heading to the hospital for his scheduled c-section. Their son had beyond enough clothes for a year thanks to his grandparents and aunts. Booker got a bunch of baby books for Titus since his girlfriend got the child more than enough clothes. Lykon mailed the couple baby toys since he sadly couldn’t head over due to caring for his parents. He did promise to catch a flight as soon as his nephew was born though. 

Nicky put away the last onesie before wincing from an extra hard kick from Titus. He rubbed his hand on his large stomach and took a deep breath.  _ “Sei entusiasta di nascere, piccola? Vacci piano con i calci, per favore”  _ **_(Are you excited to be born, baby? Go easy on the kicks, please)._ **

He decided to head down to the kitchen to get a glass of water to ease the slight pain the kicks left. He finished pouring his glass when he felt a sharp pain that made him grip the counter. He squeezed his eyes shut as he held back a moan. The pain soon went away and Nicky stood up straight and rubbed his lower back. He finished his glass of water and looked out the window to see all the rain. It’s been raining all day and the sound of thunder was making Nicky jump every couple of hours. He walked over to the couch to sit down since he was scared of another hard kick. 

Joe walked downstairs after finishing his skype call with his manager. Their album got a lot of mainstream attention which meant lots of radio stations were asking for an interview or an acoustic performance. He asked for just any of the other members to do a phone interview with the radio stations, but it seemed like they wanted to talk to Joe more. Mostly because social media were still going crazy over Joe being gay and having a hot boyfriend. Joe hasn’t posted anything on his Instagram since the hiatus, but Andy posted a picture of him looking frustrated while holding a piece of the crib. That caused people to go crazy wondering if Joe was about to be a father. Joe really didn’t want to share any of his private life since he liked living his peaceful life with his family. 

He stopped walking towards the kitchen when he saw Nicky sitting on the couch doing some kind of breathing exercise. “Habibi, are you okay?” 

_“Non lo so”_ Nicky breathed out as he kept rubbing circles on his bump. The pain was back and he didn’t hold back his groan this time. **_(I do not know)_**

Joe ran over and placed his hand next to Nicky’s on his stomach. “Is it the little one?” 

Nicky nodded his head and was thankful that the pain subsided. “I think we need to get to the hospital” 

“Are you sure? There’s a storm happening right now” 

_ “Non mi interessa nessuna tempesta. Tuo figlio vuole nascere adesso”  _ Nicky told Joe in a harsh voice. The pain could only be described as contractions which meant he needed to get the c-section done now.  **_(I don’t care about any storm. Your son wants to be born right now)._ **

“Alright. Let me help you up” Joe held out his hands so he could pull Nicky to stand up. He kept his arm wrapped around Nicky’s waist so the man could lean against him. Joe grabbed Nicky’s boots and helped him put them on. He also grabbed the rain coat to put on Nicky as well. He pulled the hood up and kissed his forehead since he couldn’t resist. He pulled on his own raincoat and boots before helping Nicky walk outside and to the car. Joe tried to drive as carefully as possible with the rain, but as quickly as he could since he couldn’t stomach hearing Nicky groan in pain anytime a contraction hit him. 

He luckily got to the hospital, but the downpour was coming harder. He got out of the car and ran around to open Nicky’s door. He held Nicky close as they made their way inside the hospital. They walked to the front desk and Joe did all the talking. 

“Hi. My fiance is going into labor. He was scheduled for a c-section” He informed her. She asked who his doctor was while another nurse got Nicky a wheelchair to take him to take him to a room. She handed Joe some paperwork and allowed him to follow his partner. 

He helped Nicky change into the gown the nurse handed over. At one point Nicky got a hard contraction and leaned his head on Joe’s chest as he moaned in pain. “It hurts, Yusuf. It hurts so much” He cried out as he felt the contraction come to an end. 

It pained Joe to hear Nicky start to cry. This was supposed to be a happy moment yet Nicky was scared and in pain. “I know, habibi. I’m sorry” 

“Why are you apologizing?” Nicky asked as Joe helped him get into the bed. 

“Cause I’m the one that put a baby in you” He smiled which made Nicky laugh.

“If I remember correctly I played an equal part in making our skin” He remarked as he let Joe fix the pillows behind him. 

“Very true, habibi” Joe kissed Nicky’s cheek before sitting down in the chair. He pulled out his phone and texted the group chat to let them know that Nicky was going into labor. He then dialed his mother’s number to break the news to her. 

“Hello?” Aafia said. She was finishing up dinner when she heard her phone ringing. 

“Hi, mama. Just calling to let you know that Nicky is in labor”

“What! My grandbaby! We’ll be over right away” Joe didn’t get another word since Aafia hung up the phone. 

“Ma is excited” He told his fiance. Nicky nodded his head in understanding as he felt another contraction. As it was ending, the doctor came into the room. 

“I see everything is going well in here” she said with a smile. “We will be able to do the surgery when your contractions are closer together. So it might take some time” 

“Okay” Nicky nodded his head. “Thank you” 

He hated the idea of waiting and being in more pain. Joe held Nicky’s hand reassuringly as the doctor left the room. “I’ll keep track of the time in between. We’ll have Titus before you know it” 

“I know. What did everyone say?” Nicky asked to get his mind off of the pain in his lower back. 

“Let’s see” Joe opened up the chat to see all of them responded. “Quynh sent squeals. Andy said they are getting the first flight out here with Marcella. Nile sent a bunch of heart emojis saying they are running to the airport right now. Lykon too is getting the first flight and wished us luck” 

“Hopefully they all make it in time”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Grandma is here!” Aafia shouted as she walked into the room with her husband close behind her. She basically tossed her purse and bag of food at Joe so she could rush to Nicky’s side. “My boy, are you okay?” 

“I’m okay, Ma. Just waiting till little one is ready to be born” Nicky smiled as Aafia kissed his cheek with a smile. 

Mufiz asked for a couple of chairs from the nurse who gladly fetched them for him. Aafia held Nicky’s hand the whole time telling him about her bookclub and all the neighborhood gossip to distract him from any pain. 

“Knock knock” They looked at the door to see Andy, Quynh, and Marcella. 

“Hi futures daddies” Andy remarked with a smirk. 

“Please never call us daddies again” Joe said as he stood up to give his friends and future sister in law a hug. 

“Oo. Let me see the ring” Quynh asked Nicky who happily lifted his hand to show his engagement ring. 

“It’s so pretty. When are you planning the wedding?” she asked. 

“Not for awhile” 

“We were thinking of going to the city hall and getting married before little one is born, but we wanted you all to be there” Joe explained after taking a bite of his food. He felt guilty eating his mother’s food since Nicky wasn’t allowed to eat. Nicky insisted on it since he knew Joe only had breakfast today. 

“Papa wishes you luck and asks for pictures of when his grandson is born” Marcella told her brother. Nicky nodded as he went through a contraction. 

“That was a close one. Should I call the doctor?” Joe asked. 

“Please” Nicky nodded through the pain as Aafia rubbed his lower back. 

“Wow. We got a packed room here” The doctor said. 

“We’ll step out” Marcella said. She turned to her brother and said, “We’ll be in the waiting room. Good luck, Nico” 

The three women kissed Nicky’s and Joe’s cheek before walking out. “You will need to put this on” She handed Joe a cover to wear over his clothes. “Let’s get you over to the surgery room”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It felt like it all happened so fast. Nicky was given the anesthetic and Joe was holding his hand saying words of endearment. Then there was the loud cry of their son taking his first breath. 

“It's a healthy baby boy” The doctor said as he rested the small baby crying on Nicky’s chest. She let Joe cut the umbilical cord as they both were staring at their son. He had Nicky’s lighter skin, but had Joe’s dark hair that was sure to curl. They only had a few minutes before the nurse took their son to get his weight and measurements. The doctor stitched Nicky back up before moving him back to his room. 

“Here’s your beautiful son” The nurse carefully placed him into Nicky’s waiting arms. He was fully conscious now without the anesthetic so he could really take in his son’s beauty. 

“He has your hair” Nicky whispered out, too scared to wake up the barely born boy. 

“He has your eyes” Joe pointed out. They both just stared at their son, trying to take in every detail of the delicate face. 

“The next one better have yours” Nicky remarked. They both laughed since it reminded them of their first conversation they had. 

“I never thought a baby could be so beautiful” Joe voiced his thoughts. 

“You should tell everyone that he's born” Nicky told his fiance. Joe nodded and stood up to let their friends and his parents know that his son was born. 

“Oh let me see the cutie” Aafia said excitedly. Nicky moved the blanket Titus was wrapped in so Aafia could fully see her grandson. 

“Did we make it!” Everyone looked at the door to see Nile, Booker, and Lykon. Nile then gasped once she saw the bundle in Nicky’s arms. 

Nicky moved Titus to be in Joe’s arms so he could show the whole room their gorgeous son. “Everyone this is Titus Al-Kaysani” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Titus is born and Nicky and Joe are gonna get married. Sorry if it seems like this was rushed. I didn't want to prolong this fic with pregnant Nicky since I just do research about pregnancies. Next chapter will sorta be an epilogue. I will be writing a sequel for this in the future since each part in the series will be another album. So leave any comments here for any requests you have. i will say in the epilogue there will be the wedding and some cute baby Titus moments since I can't resist. Also I released two new fics of Nicky/Joe so you can check those out by clicking on my account. I will also be working on a Hughie/Butcher fic so if you like The Boys keep an eye out. Thank you for reading and sending love and like always stay safe out there.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end, but not for long since there will be another part. I first want to say sorry for the mediocre sex scene. Second I want to thank you all for reading and sticking around for this fic. I never saw a fic all the way through since I usually get distracted, but I guess that shows how much I love this ship. Read the end notes for more info for what's next.

_“Buongiorno mio dolce filglio”_ Nicky smiled as he lifted the wide eyed Titus from his crib. **_(Good morning my sweet boy)._**

He changed his diaper and got the boy into a cute outfit for the day. He tickled his tummy which caused the cutest giggle and smile he could never get over. “Baba should be getting home soon. Let’s make some nom nom” 

Joe had left early in the morning to help his dad with a home repair. Nicky felt a kiss on his cheek early in the morning and a “I have to help dad with something. Love you, habibi.”

Nicky placed Titus into his highchair and kissed the top of his hair. He took a sniff of that sweet baby scent that he loves so much. It’s been three months since he’s given birth to their beautiful son. Titus’s hair did end up curling just like his baba’s. His skin was the similar olive tone as Nicky, but looked more similar to Joe, besides his blue green eyes. 

“Here you go, Ti” Nicky poured some Cherrios onto the tray so Titus could fist at the snack and lift it to his mouth. He got to work on making some pancakes while listening to his son’s babbling. He would talk back to him and turn to smile at the boy. 

He heard the front door open and turned to Titus. “Looks like baba’s home”

“Ba!” Titus shouted with excitement. 

“I see my little boy is up” Joe kissed Titus’s cheek from behind. Titus smiled big as he reached for Joe. “Alright” Joe lifted Titus from the high chair and kissed his face all over. Nicky watched with a fond smile at hearing the giggles. 

“Good morning, habibi” Joe walked over while holding Titus with one strong arm. He kissed Nicky’s lips and then his nose like he does every morning. “Ma and Dad told me tell you hi” 

“Did you guys end up fixing the leak?” Nicky asked as he turned off the burner.    


“Yeah. It wasn’t as bad as dad made it out to be” He sat down and adjusted Titus to be sitting on his lap. Nicky fixed up a plate for Joe and placed it on the table. Before he could say anything his phone started ringing. He went over to the counter to grab his phone to see it was Marcella.

“Ciao” 

_ “Nicolo, papà è malato” _ Marcella said into the receiver. It sounded like she was crying.  __ **_(Nicolo, papa is sick)._ **

Joe watched as Nicky’s smile vanished and his eyes glazed over.  _ “Quanto male?”  _ He asked.  **_(How bad?)_ **

_“Non sanno quanto tempo ha”_ She told him. **_(They don’t know how long he has)._**

 _“Parlerò a Joe di tornare a casa a trovarlo. Le farò sapere”_ Nicky ended the call before Marcella could say anything else. **_(I'll talk to Joe about going home to see him. I will let you know)._**

“Is everything okay?” Joe asked as he bounced Titus on his knee. 

“Papa is sick and they don’t know how long he has” He looked at the floor as he bit his lip to stop the tears from falling. 

Joe nodded his head and told his love, “Go pack a bag for you and Titus. I’m gonna feed this little guy before packing my own” 

“Are you sure, Joe? We don’t-” 

“Yes. We do” Joe cut him off as he stood up. “Your dad has been nothing but nice and loving to Ti” Since Titus’s birth, Alessio has been sending gifts for his grandson along with a letter for his son. Nicky hasn’t called his father throughout the whole time, too scared to hear his mother in the background. 

Joe kissed Nicky’s temple and told him, “Go pack.” Nicky nodded and rushed upstairs. He looked at his son and said, “Let’s get you fed little guy” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They got to Italy fairly fast since there was an early flight. Joe had suggested for them to leave Titus with his parents, but Nicky wouldn’t let go of his baby. They not once let his parents watch Titus overnight. The most was three hours for when Joe suggested a date night to get Nicky to relax. The man didn’t since he kept checking his phone to be sure his son was okay. 

The couple first went to a hotel to drop off their bags into a room and to change Titus’s diaper. They then got in a cab and headed to the family home. Nicky knocked on the door while Joe was standing next to him with Titus in his carrier. 

The door opened to reveal Celia. Joe held his breath, waiting to get insults hurled at them. “Nicolo” She moved forward to pull Nicky into a hug. “I’m so glad you came. Your father has been asking for you” 

She pulled out of the hug and left a kiss on Nicky’s cheek. She looked at Joe with a blank face before glancing down at the baby carrier. She smiled before turning to walk inside with the couple following her. “Papa is in our room” 

Nicky nodded and reached for Joe’s hand. They walked upstairs and to the master bedroom. The door was opened and Nicky could see his father sitting up in bed with a book in his lap. He knocked on the door frame to get the older man’s attention.    


“Nico” Alessio said excitedly. “I thought you wouldn’t come” 

“Of course I came to see you, papa” Nicky walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. 

Alessio looked behind his son to see his partner. “I’m glad you came too, Joe” He then spotted the carrier. “Is that your boy?” 

“Si” Nicky turned to Joe to come closer. Joe kept holding the carrier while Nicky unbuckled the awake boy. “Papa this is Titus” 

He carefully placed Titus into Alessio’s lap. Alessio grinned while looking down at his grandson. “You're even more handsome in person, little man” He said to Titus who was staring up at him with curious eyes. They’ve learned that Titus is just as curious as his baba which was truly adorable. Titus cooed and reached for Alessio’s hand. 

They heard someone walk in and turned to see it was Celia. “Oh” she said once she saw the small child in her husband’s lap. “Is that-?” 

She stepped a bit closer as she stared at him. “This is Titus. Your grandson” Nicky spoke up. Celia had love in her eyes as she finally was close enough to touch the soft baby skin. “Can I?” She asked.

Joe kept a blank face as Nicky nodded. Joe had mixed feelings about Celia even being near his son, but it’s Nicky’s choice. “Hello” Celia said once she had Titus in her arms. “You are so beautiful” She softly said to the boy. Titus was just staring up at her with wide eyes. He then caught sight of his baba and started reaching for him. Celia handed over Titus to Joe, who felt more at ease with his son in his arms. Titus lifted his small hand to grab at Joe’s beard as Joe pushed some of Titus’s hair out of his face. 

“Are you guys hungry? I have some leftovers we can have for lunch” Celia asked politely. Nicky looked at Joe who just gave him a look of it’s up to you. 

“We’ll love you. Thank you mama” She smiled and waved at Titus before walking out of the room. 

“Your mama is trying” Alessio told them. “It will take her time to accept the both of you, but that little guy of yours is gonna help her see the bright side” 

Nicky nodded and looked at the floor. “I know, papa” He reached to hold Alessio’s hand. “I want the both of you to see Titus and any of our other kids get older. And you will beat whatever sickness you have cause you are the strongest man I know” 

“You were always the strongest between the both of us” Alessio reached his hand up to caress his son’s cheek. “And your son is gonna be just as strong especially with Joe’s genes” 

The couple laughed which cleared the tension in the room. “Don’t cut your genes so short, Alessio” Joe said through a smile. 

“You two better eat. I’m a little tired” Nicky nodded and kissed his father’s cheek before leaving the room. 

They made their way downstairs to the kitchen to sit at the table in the corner. “Are you hungry too, Joe?” Celia asked as she kept stirring whatever was in the pan. 

“Um” Joe was surprised that the woman even remembered his name. “Sure. Thank you.”

Nicky gave a half smile as he grabbed at Titus since he was reaching to be in his lap. They sat in silence except for Titus’s cute babbling as he looked around the room. Celia placed the two plates down before leaning against the counter. Nicky let Titus stay in lap since the boy was just mouthing at the edge of Nicky’s cardigan. Nicky lifted his hand to smooth out a curl sticking out with a soft smile. 

“You’re engaged” He looked up to see his mother was looking at his hand. Nicky nodded, scared to say anything. “When are you planning the wedding?” 

“Um, not sure. We’ve been engaged for about five months so there really isn’t any rush” Nicky explained. “Where’s Marcella at?” 

Celia sat down since she truly hasn’t sat once since she woke up. “She ran down to the cafe to be sure everything is running okay without us there” 

Nicky nodded and lifted his fork to take a bite of his food. Joe was already eating since he didn’t get a chance to eat the pancakes Nicky made this morning. “I was hoping you were coming to see your father and also so I can apologize in person” 

The couple looked up at her in shock. “I should've never said any of those words to you. This was always who you are and I never could accept that. Your father showed me all the pictures you’ve sent and you look so happy Nico” 

Nicky looked down at Titus who was already looking up at his papa. “It will take time, mama” 

Celia nodded her head knowing that was what her son was gonna say. “I also wanted to give you this” She moved to a drawer and pulled out a paper to show him. 

“What is this?” Nicky asked, confused. 

“Your papa and I have decided to give you the Firelight’s” Celia told him. 

Nicky whipped head up with wide eyes. “What? No. If this is your way of asking for forgiveness, I can’t mama” 

“It’s nothing like that. Not fully at least. We could never give the cafe’s to Mercy. She could never bake like you. I want you to know you’re not a disgrace to this family. Don’t think I didn’t realize you did something to my recipes” 

Nicky laughed since he thought no one would figure out what he did. “You are the only one who could possible take our business even further than you’ve already have” 

Nicky looked back at the paper now understanding the weight of the paper. “Thank you mama. I won’t disappoint you” 

“I know you won’t dear. Now what did you do to my recipes?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I think I wanna get married here” Joe looked up from his tickle session on the bed towards Nicky, who was standing in the bathroom door frame. 

“Are you sure, habibi? I mean we haven’t even found a home here yet” The small family have been staying in Italy for a month now and are still staying in a hotel. 

“Papa has been getting better but I want him to be there in case something goes wrong” Nicky walked over to the bed and sat down to have Titus to instantly reach for him. 

“Okay. We’ll keep looking for a home and I’ll let the group know that our wedding will happen soon” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Sorry is there a Nicky here?” Joe and Nicky looked up at each other with a grin. Nicky grabbed Titus who was sitting in his high chair in a safe area in the kitchen. They walked up front to see their friends waiting at the counter. 

“Hey!” They all shouted at once in excitement to see the couple and small child. Nicky and Joe walked past the counter so they could hug their friends. 

“Ti has gotten so big” Nile had gotten his nephew in her arms and was cooing at the boy. Quynh was holding the boy’s hand with a huge smile. The boy had everyone wrapped around his finger at such a young. Booker and Andy were looking at each other knowing they were in trouble from how their partners were loving the baby. 

“You both look good” Lykon said to the couple. 

“Thank Ly. You look happy too. Did something happen that you haven’t told us?” Joe questioned. 

“Ask your sister, Nicky” Andy remarked as she was surprised by Titus asking to be held by her. 

“My sister?” Nicky whipped his head to look at Lykon. “What have you done to my sister?” 

“We might have gone on a few dates” Lykon shyly admitted. 

“I guess London is the real place for love” Joe remarked with a small smile. He could tell his Nicolo was having mixed feelings about his sister dating one of their friends. 

“You hurt her, I kill you” Nicky said with a glare. He moved to grab his baby from Andy since he could tell the boy was getting a little upset from getting passed around. 

“Are you gonna show us this new home of yours?” Booker asked. 

“Of course. Let us grab Ti’s bag and we can head out” Joe told them. 

They took a rented van to the villa the couple found. The home could only be described as Nicky and Joe. It had the perfect combination of what their apartments were. Books were scattered everywhere and blankets on every surface it seemed. It wasn’t messy but a perfect cosiness that was hard to explain. 

“Excited for your wedding tomorrow?” Quynh asked Nicky as he was preparing tea for everyone.    
  
“Of course. Even if it feels like we’re already married” Nicky remarked. 

“It’s gonna be so beautiful. I can’t wait” Quynh hugged him since she was really excited.

“When will your wedding be?” 

“Psh. There won’t be a wedding for awhile. Andy has said she doesn’t see marriage in her future” She told him. 

“You never know Q” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joe was standing under the arch made with vine and small flowers. They knew they wouldn’t be able to get married in a church which they found peace with. They instead found a beautiful location on the coast. Joe was nervous, not because of the usual reasons most grooms are nervous. He was happy nervous since this was another moment he would remember for the rest of his life. He turned to look at Booker and Andy who were at his side since he made them both his best men. His parents were sitting with Titus in Aafia’s lap. He was dressed in a cute little tuxedo that had his papa and baba awing at how adorable he was. Nicky’s parents were sitting next to Marcella on the other side of the aisle. 

The wedding march started and Joe looked up with excited eyes. Nicky rounded the corner in his black fitted tux. His hair was cut at the same length it was when they met. It was styled in the perfectly messy yet neat way that drove Joe crazy. He looked so beautiful and it felt like Joe wasn’t breathing as he watched the love of his life walk down the aisle. 

Joe reached for Nicky’s hand as soon as he was near. He just needed to touch his Nicolo to make sure this was real. Nicky felt like his heart was pounding out of his chest as he was walking closer and closer to the love of his life. His Yusuf looked so handsome in his tux and his beard trimmed. His curls so perfectly imperfect and that sparkle in his eyes. The same sparkle Nicky sees every day when the man looks at him or their son. And that smile. That gorgeous smile that will forever take Nicky’s breath away. 

They held hands in front of Lykon, who was officiating the ceremony. They didn’t really pay attention to anything Lykon was saying since they were so lost in each other's eyes. “Nicky, your vows” 

Nicky licked his lips and racked his brain to the vows he memorized. “Yusuf, I could never ask for a better man to have gotten a chance to call mine. You came into my life out of nowhere and I don’t mind at all. For I now know what unconditional love is and I have a beautiful son. This won’t be as poetic as I know your vows will be, but know that I love you so much that my heart hurts at the thought of not having you with me. I promise all of myself to you even though you’ve had me since the moment our eyes met. I promise to be with you through sickness and through health. I promise to raise our perfect family with you until the day I die. For death could never take me away from you” 

He finished his vows by sliding the gold wedding band onto his finger. Joe smiled as he badly wanted to kiss Nicky at hearing his soft loving words. Instead he squeezed his hands and mouthed, “I love you.”

“We both knew we were destined to meet and every day I wonder how I went so long without you in my life” Nicky nodded understanding what Joe meant when he said they were destined to be together. “You are the moon when I’m lost in darkness and warmth when I shiver in the cold. Your kiss will thrill me for the rest of my life, even in death. Your heart overflows with kindness of which this world is not worthy of. I love you beyond measure and reason. Today you will become my husband but you are all and you are more” 

Nicolo knew was crying and didn’t try to hide it as Joe slid the wedding band on his finger. “I now pronounce you husbands. You may kiss” 

Yusuf lifted one hand to Nicolo’s cheek while the other gripped his hip to be closer. Nicolo’s hands were placed on Yusuf’s waist as he let himself be kissed by his now husband. Joe smiled into the kiss as he could hear their friends and family cheered. 

The kiss ended and they rested their foreheads together as they closed their eyes and enjoyed the bliss of their marriage. “I love you, habibi” Joe whispered out. 

“I love you,  _ mio marito _ ” Joe’s smile got bigger somehow at hearing Nicky call him his husband.  **_(My husband)._ **

It felt unreal for the both of them as they held hands to walk down the aisle while everyone threw flowers over them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I think we should have moved here, Joe. It’s so beautiful” Nicky was looking out the window of the hotel to look out at the clear blue water. The couple left Italy early in the morning to come to Malta for their honeymoon. It took forever for the couple to part ways with their son. Joe was holding Titus since they got to their home after the wedding. The three cuddled in the large bed and fell asleep together. In the morning Nicky wouldn’t put the boy down even when they got to the airport. It took Quynh taking Titus from the man’s arms for the couple to not miss their flight. The couple will be in Malta for three days and it pained the both of them to have to leave their baby. 

“Maybe this will be our little getaway. Whenever we’re stressed we can catch a flight to Malta” Joe reasoned as he hugged Nicky from behind. 

Nicky turned around in his husband’s strong arms. “That sounds like a lovely idea” Joe kissed him to seal the deal. “I’m gonna take a shower and you check in on Ti” 

Joe sat down on the bed and dialed Andy’s number to check in on their son. 

“Shouldn’t you be fucking that husband of yours instead of calling me?” 

“First off we don’t fuck we make love. Second off I want to check in on my son” He informed her.

“Titus is doing good. He’s grown fond of Booker and keeps reaching for his hair” Andy told him. All of them were on babysitting duty since Joe and Nicky didn’t know who to fully trust to leave their son with. “He keeps looking around for you guys though. Maybe later on you can facetime” 

“I’ll facetime you now” Joe hung up before she could say anything. He called Andy on the app and she answered right away. She had Titus in her lap and the boy instantly lit up at seeing his baba. 

“Ah! Ba!” Titus babbled out as he tried to reach for the phone.    


“Hi Ti. Baba wanted to make sure your aunts and uncles haven’t harmed you yet” 

“None of us could ever hurt that cute little face” Nile shouted in the background. 

“Are you having fun, baby?” He asked Titus rather than talk to his friends. Joe smiled and nodded as he listened to his son talk his baby talk.    


“Is that my baby?” Nicky asked as he came out of the bathroom in a robe and his hair wet. He sat down next to Joe so he could be in the camera view and he could see that cute chubby face he still couldn’t believe he helped create. _“Mi manchi così tanto, piccola mio”_ He smiled as Titus clapped his hands at hearing his papa talk in his mother tongue. **_(I miss you so much, my baby)_**.

They listened to Titus talk his own language. They figured the boy was telling them about what fun activities he’s done and how he misses them.    


“Alright. We’re gonna have to go, baby” Joe sadly said. He could gladly stay and listened to Titus for hours, but knew that wasn’t why they were in Malta. Titus tried to grab for the phone when Andy moved it away from him. They could hear Titus start to cry as Andy said bye to them. The call ended and Joe turned to see Nicky was close to tears. 

“Don’t cry, habibi. I know it’s hard being away from Ti” Joe moved to wrap his arms around his husband in a warm embrace.    
  
“We’re never leaving him again after this” Nicky mumbled against Joe’s shoulder. 

“Of course, babe” Joe knew that wouldn’t be possible, but anything to get his love to not cry. Nicky moved out of the embrace a bit so they could kiss. It was soft and delicate until Nicky wanted more and started to lick and bite into Joe’s mouth. Joe gladly let the kiss deepen and begin to get rough. He moved his hands to the sash that was tied to keep Nicky’s robe close. 

Nicky moved to be on his back without breaking the kiss so his husband could be on top of him. Joe moved his kisses to the long beautiful neck that he could never get enough of. He couldn’t get enough of all of Nicolo as his hands started to touch the soft skin that was exposed to him. He let his nails light scratch at the happy trail leading to where Nicky desperately wanted to be touched at. Joe smirked against where he was leaving a mark on his neck. 

Nicky let out a small moan when he felt Joe’s hand finally wrap around his cock. At the same time he moved down to lick and bit at the hardening nipple. “Yusuf” Nicky moaned out of pleasure as his hands found their way to Joe’s curly hair. 

Joe was moving away, but Nicky wrapped his legs around his waist to keep him in place. His heart melted at seeing Nicky pouting up at him. “I have to get the lube and condoms, babe” 

It seemed like Nicky was fighting with his thoughts before he sighed and unwrapped his legs, but kept them wide open. Joe quickly went to his suitcase where the materials needed were at. He placed them on the bed and happily went back between Nicolo’s legs. 

Nicky was pleased to have the man back on top of him as he leaned up on his elbows so they could kiss. They kept kissing until Nicky pulled out of the kiss as he was tugging at the end of Joe’s shirt. “Off” he whined out. 

Joe obliged happily and was pleased once he felt his skin against his husband’s. “Tell me what you want, habibi” he asked as he went back to biting and licking at Nicky’s neck. 

“Your mouth. Want your mouth” Nicky moaned out. Joe happily followed the request and moved down Nicky’s body. Nicky lifted his hips and placed a pillow under him so he’s bottom half is lifted. 

Joe started by kissing at those stunning thighs that he loves to see wrapped around him. He left bite marks so he could admire them later. He let his lips wander to Nicky’s hard cock and held his hips down when he tried to thrust up. 

He moved further down where Nicky really wanted his mouth at. The two only really had time for foreplay back at home, which they didn’t mind. That meant Joe got to indulge in one of their favorite activities which was eating out his love. Nicky was always sure to thoroughly clean himself since he wasn’t disgusting. 

He threw his head back when Joe enthusiastically started to open him up with his tongue. Nicky had grown to enjoy the scratch of Joe’s beard even if there will be red marks that will burn. He had his head thrown back on the pillow and was letting out little moans and groans from the pleasure.  Joe pushed his tongue into the tight hole as he moved his right hand to wrap around Nicky’s cock so he could have twice the pleasure. After who knows how long, Nicky moaned loudly while gripping the head of hair between his legs. 

“Yusuf, please. W-want you i-in me” he whimpered out. He could already feel himself close from the man's tongue and fingers. 

Joe left a kiss to Nicky’s right thigh before sitting up. He opened up the condom and slid it onto his leaking cock. “You okay?’ He asked as he settled between Nicky’s spread legs. 

Nicolo smiled and moved his hands to rub the nape of Joe’s neck. “More than okay”

Joe smiled and softly kissed him with every ounce of his love and devotion. He moved his hand down to lead his cock against the opened hole. They both groaned at the feeling of their bodies joining together. It really has been too long and they both questioned why. It seemed like something snapped in both of them as they roughly kissed as Joe started thrusting. He gripped at Nicky’s thick thigh that was against his hip as they moved in rhythm. Nicky pulled out of the kiss as his back arched and let out a moan that was sinful to anyone’s ears. 

Joe knew he hit his sweet spot so he trusted harder and faster. He will forever be thankful that he would be able to hear these sweet moans and whines for the rest of his life. 

“Kiss me” Nicky begged as he scratched at the strong biceps. Joe happily obliged as he moved his hand between them to stoke Nicky to release. They orgasmed at the same time as they moaned against each other’s mouth. 

They laid in bed with Joe’s arm wrapped around Nicky’s wide shoulders. They softly creased each other’s skin as they enjoyed the quiet and bliss. “It’s too quiet without Titus here” 

“It’s nice though” Nicky reassured. He let his fingers run through the hair on Joe’s chest as he let his thoughts flood his mind. “Next round you shouldn’t wear a condom” 

Joe looked down at his husband to be sure he heard correctly. “Last time we didn’t use protection we ended up with Titus” He pointed out. 

“I know, but I miss feeling you in me” During his pregnancy whenever they had sex they didn’t see any use of using a condom since he was already expecting. They both didn’t consider how much they would miss the feeling once he was born though. 

Joe smiled and ran his fingers through Nicky’s hair. “How about this? Once Ti is out of diapers we can throw out the box of condoms. Deal?” 

Nicky grinned as he moved to straddle the man’s hips. “You have yourself a deal, Mr Al-Kaysani” He kissed him very sweetly with a smile. 

“Always happy to please, Mr Al-Kaysani” They both smiled at hearing Joe call Nicky his new name. Their family name that will be passed down to all their children and grandchildren. For they would never fathom the thought of leaving each other since they were meant to be. They were soulmates meant to meet in the Firelight. Joe kissed Nicky’s forehead as he closed his eyes and thought of their future together as fathers and husbands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the next part will take some time to be posted. I need to fully outline the story and write it all out. I thought about writing fics for the side ships in this which include Andy/Quynh and Booker/Nile but I don't think I'm 100% sold on the idea. So if anyone is interested in writing in the universe let me know. You can reach me on my Tumblr account: @Toocold2115. 
> 
> I appreciate all the love for this work and all the kudos. You can share any scenes you will think will happen in the next part in the comment section. Stay safe out there everyone and I'll see you all soon.


	17. Author Note

**Hello everyone. I am currently working on a sequel for this lovely work. I am working on an outline, but I need some ideas for filler chapters. I would also like to hear your suggestions about the main plot. Just comment any ideas you may have and I'll let you all know when the story is posted. Also thank you for sending this and my other fics love. Stay safe out there guys and I'll see you soon.**

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this short chapter. Let me know if you want me to finish this. I have half of the next chapter done so I don't know how long the whole fic will be. Let me know if you want this to be an explicit fic. Also are you into mpreg? I tend to write mpreg so not sure if this one should be one. Just let me know since I'm unsure what people really like in this fandom. Thank you for reading and stay safe out there.


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